Journey Through an Investigation
by lontanissima
Summary: Major Crimes team have a new case that brings distress to everyone. Story will include some Sharon/Andy feels.
1. Chapter 1

_This story came to me one evening and I decided to go with it. So here it is. _

_A new crime, old office, same team and some new feels._

_I will take it slow, but I will try in every chapter bring some Shandy feels. _

_Thanks to my wonderful beta Rossabelle, Luna for the cover image, Jules and Mary that are always there for me._

_I hope you will enjoy this Journey Through an Investigation._

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1.

"Oh, come on, nothing has changed, it's not like we are together or anything." Andy is trying very patiently to defend himself from what seems to be another round of accusations from his partner.

"Don't give me that, Andy, it's so visible. You know what is even worse…" Provenza's voice quiets down when he realizes that their Captain is stepping in to the break room with a curious expression on her face.

"Gentlemen, sorry for the interruption, but I heard from Amy that someone made a new pot of coffee, and—" Before she can finish, Andy is already pouring some into her favorite purple mug. She smiles at his gesture, and waits with patience till he's done. She watches him add only one small spoon of sugar, but he doesn't turn the spoon, knowingly she likes to play with it herself.

Andy gently hands her a mug with a spoon inside and she takes it, they both are trying very hard to fight the urge to touch their fingers. "Thank you," she says softly. "Now, I'm sorry, I have to go back to my office. The day is far from over." She lets her head fall a little, showing all the tiredness and, with the coffee in her hands, she turns back and moves out through the door.

Provenza observes how Andy's posture changes, and shakes his head with disapproval looks on his face.

"What?" Andy asks in a defensive tone. "I just gave her a coffee, stop being such a pain. It's nothing, really, you're making too big of a deal out of it."

"Are you saying I'm overreacting? Me?! You are kidding, right? I can show you an overreaction! Oh, no, wait the entire department will show you both an overreaction if you two don't stop this dating nonsense."

"We are not dating!" Andy says with too much force in his voice. Provenza frowns at him. Andy takes a deep breath and tries again. "We are not dating, and besides, it's none of your business, we have been over this. So please stop."

Andy's pleading look on his face makes Provenza take a step back and turn his head to the side facing the door. "We are not done and you know it. Lets back to work, but I'm warning you."

"Yeah yeah, alright. We have work to do," says Andy, pointing at the door with his extended arm.

Flynn let Provenza get out first from the break room, slowing his pace so he can calm himself a little more. He is starting to get frustrated with his partner and his annoyance. Almost every day is the same story, in the middle of a case, when they finally can take a break, he attacks him about his friendship with Sharon. _It's just few dinners, _he thinks, following the older Lieutenant to the murder room where Amy Sykes was writing something new on the board.

"Oh Lieutenants, quick update, Lt. Tao went to SID. They found ballistic evidences, we will know more shortly," says Amy. She looks at them for a moment but keeps writing on the board. "And the Captain is in her office, she asked not to be disturbed. I wonder what is all that about, maybe someone new…" She doesn't dare finish her sentence, the look on Flynn's face make her go silent immediately.

Andy turn his head and looks at the office. The blinds are drawn, and it's very quiet in there. The wheels in his mind start working very fast. _If there could be something wrong, she would have told me._ He hopes, his expression puzzled.

"Has the victim's family arrived yet?" Provenza asks, purposefully interrupting Flynn's thoughts.

"No, but Sanchez is on it," Amy adds and excuses herself.

At that moment, the office door opens and Sharon step out. "Lt. Flynn did you get that warrant for the wire in the break room so we can make a notification and interview the family?" she asks nervously, not looking directly at him.

Andy looks at her and answers seriously. "Yes, Buzz will have it in a minute so he can start working on the equipment." He watches her as she plays with the folder in her hands, but she is still avoiding making direct contact with him.

"Thank you, let me know when the family finally gets here. Lt. Provenza, I think you can handle the notification. Take Amy with you, it will be good practice," she says quickly. After another second, she returns to her office, closing the doors with a loud slam.

"That was odd." They hear Amy's voice; she is standing with a cup of coffee in her hand. "I wonder if she is ok. Maybe we should ask?" She looks at both of them and starts moving towards the office.

"Sykes!" Provenza shouts, startling her. "It is none of your business, and the Captain doesn't need your puppy eyes now, so leave her alone and you are with me today. Let's go to electronics so we can start to get ready with Buzz."

They leave and Flynn is alone in the murder room. He keeps staring at Sharon's office and can't fight the urge to go in and asks her about her behavior, but hesitates. If Provenza sees him, then he won't hear the end of it, and once in one day was enough. Instead of going to check on her, he moves to his desk and starts reading reports, in this way he can work and keep an eye on Sharon.

A few moments later, Rusty storms in to the murder room with a gloomy expression, he looks at Andy. "Is she in her office?"

"Hello to you too, Kid. Yes, she is in there, but busy," Andy responds, annoyed.

Rusty makes an indecipherable sound and goes with a hurry to his cubicle, but stops when he hears Andy's voice again. "I thought your days at the station were over, what happened, Kid?"

"Well, the _rules_ changed, that's what happened, if you must know." Andy's face turned from annoying to grim at the sound of word rules and it makes him lose patience. At the sight of his expression, Rusty tries to calm himself down and says, "Sorry, I have homework. If she asks, she knows where to find me." And with that, he disappears behind the wall. Andy shakes his head and returns to his files.

Sharon hears Rusty's voice from the murder room. She glances at her watch and lightly nods to herself. She stand up from her desk to open the blinds so she can see what the boy is up to. As she does, she sees Rusty going to his spot.

She looks at Andy, and her expression softens.

He is sitting at his desk with his legs crossed at ankles, deep in his thoughts. She watches him and starts to smile in the moment that he catches her gaze. He locks his eyes with hers and they stay like that for a minute, or an hour, till Tao comes to the room with box files in his hands.

Andy stand up quickly and helps Mike to unload the guns that are in the box. Meanwhile, Sharon steps out from her office.

"Mike, do we have something?" she asks hopefully, though it is very early in the case.

"Yes, Captain, that's why I went down to SID, so I could confirm for myself, and what I found out is very interesting."

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_Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think, please. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much for the warm welcome to this story. Here is the second chapter._

_Enjoy._

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2.

All eyes fixed on Tao, they wait for him to start speaking. Provenza arrives in the murder room, watching them waiting and says, "Captain, Julio called and the family will be here in the minute."

Sharon turn to him. "Good, let's cover the board and Lieutenant, please, stay for the ballistic update from Mike." She leans on Andy's desk, resting her hips on it.

"Better be quick," Provenza grumble to himself in a low voice that only Flynn can hear. The wild grin pops up on his face.

"As I was saying, Captain, the bullets recovered from gunshot wound have a very interesting chemical composition. When they analyzed it, the lab noticed that their weight was different from the usual ones. They did a chemical analysis and they discovered different chemical composition of material that was used to make the bullets, we all know that a normal bullet is made by alloys, combinations of lead and copper..."

While Tao passionately explains everything to them, Flynn and Provenza are growing very impatient. "Oh, come on, Tao, so what's different with this one?" says Flynn in a loud voice, earning a small smirk from his Captain.

"If you let me finish, I'll tell you soon enough." Tao's voice is dejected.

"Soon enough is now, I hope, we're aging here," Provenza grumbles.

"Yes, well, this bullet was made also with use of tungsten oxide and antimony," Tao says in a proud voice.

Flynn looks at him, even more annoyed now. "Yes, but that's not that uncommon."

"True, but remember the cases back in the eighties? Who was using those kind of weapons?" They all try to dig deep down into their memory while Tao continues. "Well, it was used by a very specific family. The Corbani clan."

The atmosphere in the room changes as they all look at Mike, and hearts start pounding at the new evidence.

"Captain." They hear Sanchez's voice, and he steps in with two officers and the victim's family.

"Detective, thank you. Please lead the family to the break room, we will be there shortly," she says and looks at Provenza.

He gets up from his desk and moves towards Sanchez.

"So, you're saying we have a mob hit on our hands?" Flynn says, vocalizing what everyone was thinking so far. "I thought that family got caught, after the big bust the LAPD with the FBI did back then. We haven't had a murder or even heard of the Corbani's illegal business dealings in a very long time. I wonder what's changed?"

"You and me both," says Sharon in a soft voice. "Lt. Tao, please add the information to the board, and call our FBI liaison, so he can send us files about this mob family, and maybe they are still keeping tabs on them," she adds hopefully.

"Yes, Captain," says Tao and step up to start putting photos up on the board.

"Andy, do you know if Dr. Morales is ready for us?"

At her voice, Andy turns to her, and his expression is lighting up. "Not yet. He said, and I quote, 'I will send a carrier pigeon to let you know,' and then he _politely_ asked to not to be disturbed. Apparently last night there was a shooting in a drug story and Robbery-Homicide kept him up all night so we can expect all kinds of moodiness down there."

Sharon smiles at him. "Then we should made another fresh pot of coffee and bring some to him, maybe that will cheer him up?" she says sarcastically, and he grins at her.

"Or it's going to make him even more hysterical than ever. I bet he got himself an IV drip of pure caffeine after the night he's just had." His answer makes her giggle.

"Captain, five minutes and we are ready," says Buzz. They can only see his head that faces them from the electronics room.

"Thank you, Buzz. We will be there in just a minute," she says and looks at Andy. Without more words, he moves toward her and with his arm extended in the direction of the door, he whispers, "After you."

She nods and moves away from his desk. He stays behind just for a moment so that he can watch her walk away. She can feel him staring but decides to ignore it, truth to be told, that really doesn't bother her at all.

They walk in silence, but before she can grab the doorknob, he gently takes her by crook on her elbow and slowly turns her to face him. She can't hide her surprise at his gesture, and moves her eyes from his hand to his face and watches him with a questioning look.

"Sharon, sorry, but is everything alright?" he asks in a low voice so they won't be overheard by anyone.

She tilts her head a little but didn't move away from his proximity. "Yes. Why do you ask?" she says in a hurry.

"Well, I notice you are… not yourself today," he says after a brief pause, "and from a very short but eloquent conversation I had with Rusty, I can tell that something is not right." Andy takes a step back, wanting to give her some personal space. He takes his hand of her, so she can answer him without hesitation.

"Yes, Rusty's giving me some trouble, but it's nothing that can't be handled at _home_." She emphasizes the word home, to make him understand that this is not a place or time for a discussion about her personal problems. "But thank you, Andy, for your concern. I will talk to him about his recent manners towards you if that's what bothered you," she says absently and starts to turn around to open the door.

Before she has a chance to do it, he continues, his voice above a whisper now. "No, this is not what bothers me, and you know it."

Now he knows, for sure, that her acting in this vague and nervous way has a meaning, and it worries him. He don't want to push her too much. They are, in fact, at work and remaining professional is the best thing they can to right now, although he misses his friend Sharon.

She stays put, feeling his arm almost touching her waist while he tries to take the doorknob and open the door for her.

Andy can see how her body tenses up and with a concerned look on his face, he lets her into the electronic rooms, where Buzz has already started to work.

She take a seat next to Buzz and Flynn stays near the door, leaning against the desk drawer, from where he usually likes to observe the monitors.

"Did they start yet?" the Captain asks, and Buzz shakes his head without looking at her. "No, Captain, Lt. Provenza has the ear piece and was waiting for you to start."

"Thank you, please tell him we are ready," says Sharon, and carefully observes what are monitors showing. She leans her elbows on the table to get closer to the screen.

"Lt. Provenza, the Captain is here, you may start." Buzz's voice fills the room and from the screen Flynn can see Provenza slightly nodding his head.

* * *

_Thank you for reading. Let me know your what you think, please._


	3. Chapter 3

3.

In the break room, Provenza sits on the table while across him sit James Merrick and his daughter Kim, while Amy pours fresh water into glasses for the victim's family.

"Why are we here? Why is no one answering my question? Why are there police in my house, and why can't I go to my own home?" The man is angry, throwing questions at Lt. Provenza as he looks him directly in the eyes.

"Mr. Merrick, where were you last night?" Provenza asks sharply.

"Why can't you people just answer my questions first?" The man tries to stand up but the girl puts a hand on his arm.

"Dad, please. Calm down and, please, I want to know, where is Mom?" says the girl, her voice pleading but clear.

"Yes, where is my wife?" James asks.

Amy walks to them and puts the water in the middle of table. She gives a sympathetic look to the visibly scared girl. "Mr. Merrick, we really need to know, where you were last night," she says calmly.

The man takes a deep breath to control himself. "My daughter and I were at the college campus. It was a two day trip."

"And which college was it? We need to know to check your story," she adds.

"Check out our story? Are we being arrested? Should we get a lawyer?" Mr. Merrick's voice is very loud now.

Provenza is getting way too annoyed with his female colleague. It's looking like she never learned how to conduct a simple interrogation without giving up her real intention. For once the Captain is right, Sykes needs some practice and a good mentor. The realization hits him, Raydor's plan might be to make him become one and oh, _that woman_ has something else coming. He already has a lot on his plate, always being a responding officer on the scene dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. Not that he ever complains... about that, anyway, but babysitting the overenthusiastic Amy Sykes won't become is job, not if he can help it.

He can see the young detective's distress and her uncertainty in how to proceed forward. Pity for her overtakes him, and he definitely doesn't want the case to suffer from this. The only solution is to take over and try to calm down the victim's family.

"Mr. Merrick, you are not under arrest and you don't need a lawyer. We asked you here because your house is a crime scene." Provenza says this very clearly.

"A crime scene? That's why all the police were at my house? What happened? Where's Molly?" The man sounds panicked.

"Dad, please, calm down. Sir—" The girl turns to face Provenza with tears in her eyes. "Me and my dad went to Berkeley. I got early acceptance there. We spent the night in a hotel near campus so I could take a tour and get some guidance from there. I'm sure the receptionist can help you with checking out our story." She dares a look to Sykes next and pauses for a moment. "Now sir, please, can you tell us what happened to my mom?"

With a sympathetic look on his face, old Lieutenant proceeds with the notification.

"Mr. and Miss Merrick, we are very sorry to inform you that Molly Merrick was found dead this morning in your house."

Provenza will never get used to what always follows those particular words. It's been awhile since his last death notification. His experience and rank at least grant him that and he really thinks that Sykes could have done a better job so he could avoid this. Now he's a main character in the worst day of those strangers' life. The headache starts pounding in his temples, knowing that this is far from over.

When finally the screaming and crying are contained, and the young girl is helped up from almost falling on the floor, for the first time Provenza can't complain that Amy Sykes is there. She is helpful and empathetic enough to make the girl stop crying and calm the father so they can answer more of their questions.

Amy looks at Provenza with confidence and he understands that the young detective wants to try again to take the lead. In understanding, he sits back in his chair and crosses his hands in his lap.

"Mr. Merrick, we would like to ask you some more questions that might help us with the investigation of your wife's murder." Hearing her voice, James reacts and nods his head, wiping the tears from his face.

"Can either of you tell us if Molly had any enemies, or if somebody was threatening her? Did she have any problems at work that you know of?"

"None that I can think of. She is—" The man pauses and takes a deep breath. "_Was _a very respected person in our community. She was a great nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Every patient loved her, she never had a problem with any coworker, either. She was saving lives, you know," James answers. "I can't believe that someone could hurt her. She was so sweet and gentle." The man's voice breaks again.

Amy then turns to the girl. "Kim, can you think of anything? Maybe you overheard your mom on the phone or witnessed something out of ordinary?"

"No, ma'am. Like my dad says, she was an amazing person and I didn't notice anything new," says the girl, sobbing.

"If you don't mind, I would like to take my daughter home," says James, but he is coming to a sudden realization. "How long will my house be a crime scene? Can I go in and take at least some personal belongnings from it?" He looks directly at Provenza, making him react.

"I'm very sorry but the house is under forensic processing right now. Once the SID division is done, we will inform you when you can claim your belongings," Provanza says, thinking that the interview is quite over. There is not much more they can get from the family, and he really wants to get out of there and go back to his desk.

In the electronics room, Sharon sits deep in thought, trying to analyze every detail she saw. By the look on Andy's face, he's trying to do the same. The door of the room opens and Sanchez steps in.

"Captain, Dr. Morales called. He will be ready for us in thirty minutes, and then he said something weird about being out of pigeons at the moment. Ma'am, I really didn't understand him." Sanchez looks at her with a frown.

She shakes her head. "Julio, thank you. Lt. Flynn and I will be going to the morgue shortly." She glances at her watch. It's probably too late to make them go to the victim's workplace. After the last department meeting where Taylor in his subtle way reminded her to focus on the team's work schedule, she needs to be more careful about overtime or Taylor will be onto her in no time.

"Julio, please go to the victim's workplace tomorrow with Mike and collect as much information as possible. Hopefully, they will be more helpful than the victim's family was. Thank you."

He nods and exits the room.

"Lt. Flynn, I guess Dr. Morales is awaiting us. I will go to the break room when the family is gone and take the coffee with us," she says, standing up and passing close enough to Andy that he can smell the faint scent of her perfume and closes his eyes in relish. He exits after her and goes to his desk.

On her way to the break room Sharon sees Provenza's unhappy face while Amy is escorting the family. His glare is intense. It's been awhile since he behaved this way. His unfriendly eyes meet hers and he shakes his head. He's upset about something, but right now she can't take care of it. It will blow over soon and maybe he'll even get over it but she knows Provenza, and he'll make everyone suffer in the meantime, especially her.

She gets the coffee and meets Andy at his desk. To get his attention and to not spill the beverage all over him, she places her free palm on his shoulder and squeezes it. She can feel how tense his body is and without being noticeable, she presses her hand deeper, starting to rub. He turns around and looks her directly in her green eyes. For a moment, his mind gets lost in her.

"Ready? We don't want to make the doctor wait." Her voice brings him back to the reality.

"Of course." They step into the elevator and he goes to the back, leaning against it. She stands on the opposite side, halfway turned between him and the elevator doors.

"You really took the coffee?" He breaks the silence.

"Yes. Why? You know, it's called being nice, and we really need something from the autopsy. I think coffee won't hurt."

"Are you implying I'm incapable of being nice?" He says with a smirk in his voice.

"No, I'm saying that sometimes it might pay off. And just for the record being _nice_ it not that difficult, you know." She sighs deeply.

He sees, again, all the tiredness in her. "Sharon," he says softly. "I know you don't want to talk about your problems here, you made yourself perfectly clear earlier, so how about we go to dinner? Hm? It's been a while since we went last time, and I did some research and found a new place that you might like. What do you think?"

"Andy, that sounds lovely, but Rusty is grounded till further notice, so for now I can't go to dinner with you. Thank you, though. And yes, I know it's been awhile," She adds with a smile.

"Seventeen days," he whispers to himself.

"Did you say something?" she asks in a low voice, looking carefully at him.

"No, I was thinking out loud," he answered absently.

The elevator door opens and they start walking on the dark corridor of the morgue.

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_Thank you for reading and reviewing. I hope you are still enjoying it. As always, let me know what you think. :)_


	4. Chapter 4

4.

They reach the morgue and, as always, Flynn feels his stomach turn. So many years on the job, so many crime scenes and murders, but the cold and silent corridors of the morgue never cease to affect him. They both reach the scrub room, this time he enters first so he can help her get the blue medical robe. She places a coffee mug on the small table that stands in the corner of the small room. Illumination from long neon lamps somehow makes the place even more impersonal. She takes the item from his hands and puts it on, unsuccessfully trying to tighten the strings behind her neck.

Andy sees her getting rattled and moves closer to her. "Please, let me help you," he says from behind her. With that, he steps closer and delicately shifts her hair away from her shoulders to expose her pale neck. He starts slowly lacing the robe for her. The light breeze created from his movements causes her to shiver. Sharon can sense how cold his hands are and starts silently begging him in her mind not to touch her bare skin. It would be too much, or maybe not enough.

When he's done, he traces down the hem of the blue material to reach the second set of strings that are situated around her waist. She feels the material tightly hugging her body, it affects her breathing, that changes in velocity and intensity. She is hit with a strong flush of heat and in her cheeks there is visible rosy color. Her own body's reactions are making her feel uncomfortable.

"There." His warm, low voice fills the room, and she takes a moment to compose herself. What just happened? They are actually about to enter the examination room. That thought helps her to cool off and regain her focus. She turns around and, with appreciation showing on her face, she passes him the mask and the blue gloves that she took from the counter above her. When they are ready, she hears him take a deep breath and they both step into the room where the victim's slim body lies on the table.

"_Hola_, Captain, Lieutenant. So nice of you to join me today," says Dr. Morales, with all the sarcasm and annoyance that he can muster.

Flynn tries not to get caught rolling his eyes.

"Hello, Doctor, we bring gifts," Sharon says with a smile, and hands him a cup of coffee.

With surprise on his face, he takes it. "Oh, thank you," he says with embarrassment in his voice and puts the coffee on his desk.

"What can you tell us, Doctor?" Andy asks, and both Sharon and Morales turn to him.

"Yes, well, like Kendall probably told you, she was dead for no more than three hours when he got there. So I place the time of death around one or two am. She suffered one gunshot to the head. The bullet trajectory is at an incline, it means that the victim was on her knees, or lying on the floor and the assailant was standing above her. The entry wound is from behind her head."

The captain and her lieutenant listen carefully to his words, watching over the body while Dr. Morales gesticulates and points at things.

"So, it looks like a very well planned hit," says Sharon, interrupting Morales.

"Not necessarily. The bullet wound might indicate that, but she suffered other trauma." Now they watch him with a questioning look on their faces. "She has abdominal bruises, and she has more of them on the upper arms and her thighs, it looks like she was beaten first. They are all antemortem. I think her attacker beat her up with some long weapon like a bat, so when she fell on the floor, he shot her in the back of the head. She didn't fight back. There is no skin or hair under her fingernails. Everything must have happened very fast. There is no indication of sexual abuse. I didn't find any other external particulates on her body," he finishes, looking at them with a tired expression. "So if it was a planned hit, someone did a very sloppy job."

Sharon looks at the body on the table, some parts of Molly were exposed. She was a middle aged woman in good physical shape. By the look of her, it appears like she jogged or went to the gym quite often. Her blonde hair was medium length. Her face was smooth, only few visible wrinkles in the corner of her eyes. She had no tattoo or birth marks. If Sharon passed by her on the street, nothing about this woman would attract her attention. Molly was a mother, wife, and nurse. Something about her anonymity saddens Sharon a little. Not that she is the one who sticks out in a crowd. Maybe that was exactly the problem.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a loud noise. Flynn, in attempt to make himself comfortable on Morales' desk, knocks down the lamp. That pushes over the pencil box, and like dominos, the pencils fall one by one to the floor. She looks over at the doctor's face, and sees his eyes roll emphatically. Shaking her head, she turns to Andy and gives him the classic Raydor stare. The one thing they don't need right now is Morales having mood swings.

Andy apologizes and bends over to pick up everything that fell off before the already on edge doctor starts to freak out. He completes the task in no time and, with a sheepish look on his face, turns to Sharon, asking her to take over and get them out of there.

"Thank you, Doctor. If there's any news, please let us know and hopefully not by pigeons. A text message or a phone call upstairs will be sufficient." She jokes to relieve the tension and her eyes smile. Morales looks embarrassed but puts on a good face nevertheless.

"We heard about your day," says Andy in a friendly voice. "We know you've been here awhile now."

"Try more than twenty-four hours. I hope in the next thirty-six there are no murders 'cause I might start killing and not randomly," he says defensively.

"That is one happy thought," says Sharon softly, and adds, "Thank you, and hopefully you can have some rest soon, Doctor. Goodbye."

"Captain, Lieutenant." And with that he watches them exit the examination room, sipping the still hot and fresh coffee.

They go to a small room and take off their robes, gloves, and masks. Like stripping out of it will somehow make it better. He watches her as she's ready to go. He never saw such hurry in her. He picks up the pace and they go to the elevator doors. She pushes the button and this time she leans against the back wall, immersed in deep thought.

"Do you have something sweet to eat?" he asks unexpectedly.

"How can you think about eating now? After the autopsy." She looks at him, puzzled, not fully understanding the real purpose of his chitchat.

"You know, usually after the trip down to the examination room with Chief Johnson, we always ate something sweet in the elevator. Like a candy or a chocolate bar, she had them handy in that purse of hers. It helped with the nausea and in some sort of twisted way, made me feel better. So that's why I'm asking if you have any." He answers her questioning expression.

She looks at him with sympathy. "No, I'm sorry, but if you'd like we can stop by a vending machine and get some, if that will help you. I myself never was much for sugary treats."

He turns around and observes her carefully. And in one moment he sees his friend Sharon and smiles at her broadly. "No, it's okay, I'm already feeling much better."

She feels cornered, but not in a bad way. Her need to run is fading away. Her expression softens, and he is glad that in a secret way he contributes to her wellbeing through simple distraction.

"You should take Rusty and go home," he says, and before she can argue he cuts her off. "We are done for today, it's late, kid has school in the morning and there is nothing more that you can do, Captain."

The use of her rank gets her back to the realty of the facts and surrounding. They've reached the Major Crimes floor. The elevator doors open and once again he watches her walk in front of him. Everyone is in the murder room waiting for the updates and finishing up for the night.

"Captain, you should take Rusty home, Flynn can update us." Provenza says in a load voice, pointing at the direction of the cubicle.

She nods. "Call me if you need me." She goes to her office to collect her things, while the team keeps adding information on the board. Rusty heard Provenza so he is getting himself ready too. He steps into her office while she is taking some files with her and then she turns off her desk lamp and points in the direction of the door. Rusty walks out before her and waits till she closes the door. They both leave the office without being seen.

* * *

_Thank you for reading. It's getting hot in here :) _

_I feel in need to warn you, in case you didn't notice I'm a The Closer nostalgic so I will have a little fun with that :) hope y'all will enjoy it._

_This chapter is for_ **Kate****04us** _as a part of a **deal** we made on twitter. Kate now is your turn! _

_Thanks to everyone who'd reviewed my story, it means a lot. And please keep let me know what you think. It's a best energy bust that a writer can get._

_Next chapi will be some Sharon and Rusty one-o-one :)_

_Thank you! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_A little Easter treat for all of you!_

_I hope y'all are spending this short break in a best possible way (reading fanfiction of course :P )_

_Thank you all for your wonderful words._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

5.

The drive to the condo is quiet. Rusty plays with the radio console trying to find a music station they both enjoy. He doesn't want to annoy her. She's still pissed at him, and tempting fate at the end of the day was never a good idea. He learned that a long time ago. Maybe she'll let him watch TV tonight, he needs to find some good arguments to make that happen.

"Sharon, shouldn't we stop for groceries? We still have some leftovers but if we don't go to the store soon we'll end up with no food in the house."

"I know, thanks for the reminder. I'm too tired now though, so I'll order them online tonight and tomorrow we'll have a fridge full of food. Do you want me to put something specific on the list?" Sharon asks him softly.

"Not really, but remember that juice you bought once? It was, I think, mango flavored with this weird dense pulp stuff? Maybe you can buy it again. Please?" he adds hesitantly.

"I thought you didn't like it. You complained about it a lot, so I stopped buying it."

"Yeah, well I like the flavor. Still think the pulp is weird, but Buzz told me that if I add water into it, it won't feel weird when you drink it. So I'd like to try that, and I know you like that juice too, it's kind of healthy, right?"

She smiles at him. "Yes, and I do. Fine, Rusty, I'll order it for us."

She's glad that Buzz can help him figure out things like that. Rusty is a curious kid, but with her, he often holds back. It's normal, Ricky didn't talk to her much either at this age. And who wants to talk about this stuff with their mother, anyway? She smiles to herself while pulling to the parking lot. In no time, Rusty is out of the car and rushing to the elevator.

"How nice of you to wait, you should open the door and wait for a woman " she says sarcastically. "That's very gentlemanly."

"But like, you can do it yourself." He tries to defend himself.

"I beg to differ young man, it's just good manners." She smiles at him.

This kind of teasing always makes him uncomfortable. Sharon is always very respectful of his space and privacy, never pushing him in any direction. After she asked him to _come back home,_ things at home are the same as usual. Maybe they are more quiet and slow, after all those scary and painful days, neither of them wants to rush anything and they're just enjoying the tranquility. They're trying to get back to normality and that was happening until Rusty managed to get himself into trouble and upset his foster mom again. As a result, all the rules had changed, and they're giving each other the silent treatment. Now he has to suffer all the consequences, not without complaining, of course.

Rusty heats up some leftovers in the kitchen. "You want some?" he asks Sharon, his mouth full of food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full. And no, thank you, I'll make some salad later. I'm not hungry now. Alright, Rusty, eat and clean up when you're done, then go to your room please," she says in a stern voice.

"But Sharon, can I at least watch the news?" he pleads.

She knows that a lack of TV is even worse than coming straight from school to the department, but she's not going back on her word. He's grounded, and that's all there is to it.

"No. You know why you're in this situation. You need to earn my trust again, and we will talk when you are ready to talk. Please do as I asked."

"But Sharon, we talked about it and I apologized, just the news. Please?"

"No, and you didn't talk about anything. It was me talking to you without any participation from your side. I asked you to talk to Dr. Joe about it, I hope you are working things out with him. But for now you're still being punished." And with that, she goes towards her room, where finally after a long day she can put some comfortable clothes on.

She walks in to the room and takes off the blazer, putting it on the hanger and placing it to the side of her closet where she keeps the clothes that need to be dry cleaned. That reminds her, she's behind on her weekly schedule with housekeeping chores. She's glad for Marta, a lovely lady who will come in tomorrow and clean the condo. With a new case, she won't be able to do that. At least she remembered to call her today from the office. What is it with her lately? She's so distracted. It's not that anything has changed or that her workload has increased. She feels anxious and restless, sometimes even in the middle of the day. She needs to find her balance soon, or her work will be affected by this. But this never happened before.

She sits on her bed and starts to take off her watch, but then she remembers she took a folder with photos of the crime scene home with her. If there's still work to do, then the watch must stay on her wrist, like a compass pointing her in the right direction. Since she went home earlier than the others, she'll work on them, maybe she'll spot something to solve the case. The unrealistic thought makes her smile.

She hears Rusty's footsteps in the corridor and then a very loud slamming of his door that makes her jump. She sighs and stands up, taking off her electric blue dress and putting on a loose t-shirt, green cardigan, and a pair of yoga pants. She figures she better start on her work now, if not, she'll doze off on the couch again and her back will regret that in the morning.

She goes to the kitchen and fixes herself a salad with tuna and corn, accompanied with a glass of white wine. With those, she goes to her desk and starts ordering groceries online. She actually likes going to the store and buying things, even food. She likes to be in control of what she eats and drinks, and now with a teenager in her home, it's become more entertaining than when she was doing it for herself. Rusty always has some funny input. She still can't believe how much this kid has missed in his life. It makes her want to love and protect him even more.

When she's done eating, she pours herself some more wine and opens the file, starting to lay the photos out on the desk.

Molly was found in her living room, lying on her stomach on a red-carpeted floor. She is dressed in house clothes, some yoga pants and a t-shirt too big for her. Sharon can spot Molly's sweater lying on the couch. The coffee table is overturned, the attacker probably abruptly pushed it out of his way when the woman tried to escape from him. There is glass everywhere, on the floor there are smashed family pictures and a few flower vases that probably were pushed from the sideboard near the couch. This is all consistent with Morales' assumption that the attacker probably had some kind of bat with him, otherwise he could have cut himself doing this. No luck this time, but they will catch the murderer, Sharon has always been confident in the abilities of her team.

That sounds nice. _Her _team. She never, even in a million years, would have thought that Brenda's people would learn and grow to like working with her. Her favorite sign "_work with me people_" is still hanging in the office, and on difficult days, she likes to stare at it. Luckily now, there are more easy days than problematic days. Usually, it's all up to Provenza's grumpiness. And with that thought, she catches herself deflecting her thoughts from work.

There were no indications of forced entry on the scene, so it is safe to assume that Molly opened the door herself and let whomever attacked her come in. In fact, the report says that the door was closed when the first officers responding to the 911 call came to check on the house. Otherwise, from this, and of course the mess that the gunshot to the head caused, the house is in order, nothing out of the ordinary to be seen. Very clean and simple. Tomorrow, Sharon will rewatch the videos that Buzz took from the scene, just to be absolutely certain she's not missing anything.

She hears her phone ring, the text message tone. That is unexpected. She smiles to herself, seeing Andy's name on the screen.

_How's the lockup going? Andy_

How considerate of him. They developed their friendship through a few dinners after she helped him with his family, and since they really had a great time together, from time to time they are still going out. It's been a while now since their last dinner, and she really could use some time off from everything. And Andy is a wonderful distraction.

_Good, feels tense tho. I laid off on silent treatment. _

It's late and she should call it a night. She puts all the photos and reports in order and returns them to the file.

_You know, I was reminded today that sometimes being nice might pay off. Are you still working?_

Andy was always a flirt and now that their relationship has changed a little, she doesn't mind it that much. But maybe she should stop that.

_Very funny, Andy. I was looking at crime scene photos, but I'm done now. See you tomorrow. Goodnight. Thanks for checking in. Sharon _

She goes to her room, and starts to get ready for bed.

_Hope the photos won't bring you nightmares, in case you need me I'm always a phone call away. Goodnight. Sweet dreams._

The warmest sensation goes through her and a broad smile forms on her face just before she closes her eyes and falls asleep.

* * *

_Thank you :) _

_I hope you liked it. Can't wait to hear from you._


	6. Chapter 6

_This chapter is for _**Luna** _because_ _she gave me the idea. _

_Thank you all for wonderful words. Keep them coming, it's really motivating._

_Enjoy._

* * *

6.

Lieutenant Louie Provenza walks into the office the next morning with only one thought on his mind: _it's a payback time_. He doesn't have anything specific planned at this moment. It's very early and there is no one from his team in the murder room yet. Even Flynn hasn't arrived, so he can plan his vendetta in peace. It helps that Sanchez and Tao went to interview coworkers of the victim and Sykes was ordered, by him, to go first thing in the morning to look through the archives and pull up old files about the Corbani family. You never know how an old case can help to catch the killer. Provenza has seen it so many times.

He goes to the break room and starts to open the cupboards one by one, looking inside in a very deliberate way. He is on a mission. Provenza knows that people are creatures of habit. He is one himself, but there is one other person in his division who is even more predictable than the others, and he won't hesitate to use that to his advantage.

With a mischievous smile on his face, and a mental exclamation of _aha!,_ he finally finds what he's looking for.

"Hey is that Sharon's…"

Provenza turns around and sees his partner standing in the entrance to the room with a questioning look on his face.

"What? Oh no, you won't kill my fun. Not this morning," he barks back.

"Oh, come on! Don't be an idiot. Someone had to go with Sykes, why are you making such a big deal out of it?" In all these years, Andy Flynn has learned to recognize what bothers his partner the most. And of course yesterday's orders made him particularly unhappy. Usually, if you follow simple rules, you can live with him peacefully.

Don't mess with his desk, don't make him run, don't touch his hat.

Simple. But when the day is slow and you are bored out of your mind and the paperwork starts to ground you, the only way to survive is to annoy Provenza. That will never get old.

"So now you're going to defend your girlfriend? Is that it?" Provenza's expression changes from annoyed to warier.

"Oh God, Louie, not this again, it's early and I haven't had my coffee yet." Flynn pleads with him now.

"I saw you yesterday, you know. Stop chasing her, find yourself a new hobby or I don't know, a new conquest, but she is your boss and this is not a good idea." He seems sincere.

Andy really is puzzled, it's like a never ending story with Provenza and he's made himself clear, he and Sharon are friends.

"She is a friend. So now coworkers can't be friends? Julio and Mike are close friends, more like family, you and I are too, we all were friends with Chief Johnson, so what's wrong with me being friends with Sharon?"

"You are an idiot, Andy, and you're making my case for me. And stop calling her by her first name. Take your head out of your ass and open your eyes. This is going to end badly for you. Oh, and don't get in my way. Or I swear to God."

There is a brief moment of silence between them. Andy tries hard to think about the situation and not to get mad again.

"Are you jealous or something? Because really I don't understand what the problem is. Nothing happened and nothing will happen."

"You've got to be kidding me. This is worse than I thought. And get out of here before I shoot you in the head to see there's any brain matter left in that skull of yours."

Flynn smirks at the thought of his partner being so worked up, it's looking like he really has a mission. This will be a hell of a day.

"Yeah, I know, you have perfect aim. I came here for a coffee? Why didn't you start the coffee machine?"

"There is no coffee in the office, we finished it yesterday."

"Then I better text Mike to bring some when they are done." And with that Andy leaves the break room, leaving Provenza and his grumpiness alone.

When he walks into the murder room, he sees Amy carrying brown boxes.

"Hey Amy, let me help you." He goes to her and puts them on Provenza's desk. Amy's face changes and she looks at Andy suspiciously.

"Sir, are you sure it's a good idea?" she asks in a low voice.

"Oh, it's not." And he starts unload the other box she has with her, right next to the first one.

Amy shakes her head but knows better than to come between those too. They take a few folders each and sit at their desks and start to read. At one point, the young detective stands up, but she is interrupted by Flynn's voice. "There's no coffee in the break room, I've already texted the guys to bring some Starbucks for all of us when they are done."

She smiles at him. "So it's going to be a long day, I suppose."

"You have no idea." He says that more to himself then to her.

They are both immersed in deep reading when Provenza's loud voice startles them. "Sykes! Get those things _off of my desk_! Now!"

Amy gives a look to Andy and he appears far more content with himself. She does as she's asked. For an apology, she gives Provenza a few folders from the boxes.

The Corbani family was on the top in late 70's and all through the 80's. They were busted in '93 at one of their underground virgin girls biting nights in a basement in one of the local strip clubs. The family specialized in human trafficking. The girls were brought to the country in metallic containers on the cargo ships that were sailing through the Atlantic from Eastern Europe to America. All the girls were underage and they came having been lured by the promise of the one and only American Dream. The family used a chain of dry cleaning stores to launder their money, and in case something went wrong, they had on hand all the chemicals necessary for the disposal of any unwanted bodies. The girls were working during the days in the shops and at night as high class escorts for the upper class of Lost Angeles. It took the LAPD 7 years to bring all of them to justice. The departments had all worked very hard together on that. If the Corbani's really are back in business, Major Crimes will have a lot more work to do and very short time to do it. The Corbani's were the most precise and ruthless mob families that LA had ever seen.

Flynn gets distracted again by the cheerful voices of Tao and Sanchez, and the thought of hot coffee makes his mouth water a little. The guys are taking their time getting to the murder room. When they finally arrive, they are greeted with smiles of appreciation from their colleagues.

Mike has the tray full of cups and Julio holds a pink box, and it looks like inside they are all going to find delicious warm donuts.

"Why are you two so happy?" Provenza asks them.

"Oh, you won't believe the nurses in that place, I never saw so many perfect legs in one work place, oh let me rephrase that, in one hospital," Julio says with a goofy expression.

"Here, Amy, take your coffee," says Tao, smiling and shaking his head.

"You know all those fantasies men have about hot nurses..." Sanchez trails off. "I'm certain of one thing, if I'm ever going to be shot again—" That thought makes everyone uncomfortable, except for Amy, they can spot curiosity on her face. "I want to recover in that hospital, I'm going to dream about those legs in short skirts for a while now."

They look at Tao. "Yes guys, the girls were pretty amazing, I have to admit," he says, and hands a coffee to Provenza.

Andy comes closer to table where they put the mugs, takes the polystyrene cup with his name on it and deeply enjoys the warm sensation that spreads through him while he is holding it. He just really wants taste the substantial, sweet and steamy brown liquid that will wake him up even more. He puts his lips on the edge of the cup and tilts it slightly, just enough to take a sip, but not too much so he won't burn himself. He opens his mouth and takes a sip.

"What the hell?!" he says, spitting and choking at the same time. "What is this shit?!" He looks angrily at Tao and Sanchez.

"Andy, what's wrong?" Tao says, concerned.

"What do you mean what's wrong? Is this some kind of a joke, I asked for a fucking coffee and instead you bring me a stupid herbal tea? What the f—"

"Gentlemen, what is going on? What's all this shouting this early in the morning?" Sharon says in a stern voice, gazing at everyone in the room, but her eyes end up on the very angry Lieutenant Flynn. He can't calm himself down and she can sense it. Without thinking twice she approaches him and stands nearby him.

"Andy, I thought that was your order. You changed it at the last minute," says Tao very calmly.

"Seriously, Mike, do you think _I_ would do that?" He is shouting now. Sharon instinctively puts her right hand on his forearm and keeps it there. He doesn't move, a warm sensation goes through him and he takes a deep breath, she has a soothing effect on him. Every time.

"Actually, Provenza called us and said you want to switch orders 'cause you were concerned about your health, so we bought you a herbal tea, the barista said this one was very good for the heart."

All heads turn to Provenza, who was enjoying himself more than ever. "Louie, how nice of you to make that call, you are a real angel, you know that!" Andy says to his partner, with all the sarcasm and annoyance that he can find in himself.

Sharon tightens her grip on his arm.

"Here, Captain, we bought a coffee for you too." Julio takes the cup and hands it to her. She takes it with her left hand so she doesn't lose contact with Andy.

"Sharon, I think you are all out of coffee." The sudden appearance of Rusty's voice makes everyone come back to reality.

"Hi Rusty, I didn't see you there," says Amy. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Yes, but in first period we have Mass and I have a deal with Sharon that if any Catholic events happen, I'm not forced to attend it so I'm here. Again," Rusty answers sadly.

Sharon stands up and starts looking in her purse for her wallet. She hands Rusty some money. "Here, go to the store around the corner and buy us a new bag of coffee, please."

"Does that mean I can go somewhere without any supervision?" He asks with a smirk on his face.

"Go before I change my mind." She dismisses him quickly quite amused, shaking her head.

"You know guys I might start to hide your coffee," he says, laughing to himself and goes quickly away.

"Kid, if you do that I might personally handcuff you to a chair." Julio answers him jokingly.

They all laugh and the tension of previous moments eases. They start enjoying the beverages and sweet pastries, talking among themselves. Andy stands up and goes to the break room with his cup in his hand. Sharon fallows him without being noticed by anyone except for Provenza, who has been observing them since she entered the room. Those idiots can't get more obvious than that. It amuses him, but at the same time, it makes him wonder how oblivious can they both be about themselves? He is always chasing her, she is always ready to help him. If this all wasn't happening in the office, Provenza might even help his partner to score the girl, as a good wing man does, but those two are playing in a dangerous fire. He needs to figure out the way to stop this, but for now he will enjoy his revenge. _One down, one to go._

Andy hears her footsteps and turns around with an apologetic stare. She stays very close to him, watching him carefully.

"Here, let's switch, take my coffee and I will drink your tea." She gives him her cup and takes his from his hands very slowly, touching him once again.

"Are you sure you don't want it?" His voice is warm.

"Yes, I already had two," she says softly, and steps a little closer to him.

Andy questions her with his look.

"I couldn't sleep last night, so I was up very early, just in time to drink two cups."

"I've told you not to look at crime scene photos," he says with this boyish expression of his that never fails to soften her. She twitch her lips in a tight smile and sees him shaking his head.

"Maybe so. Are you alright?" Her voice is worried and again her hand is on his arm. He looks at her gesture, feeling how her hand is warm and gentle.

"Yes, I'm sorry about earlier. I know I acted silly, but Provenza is keeping me very edgy and I guess I just blew up."

She smiles brighter at him and he returns it very faintly. This brief moment with her calms him down completely and makes him forget all the fury he felt earlier. She enjoys being with him, here in the morning, sipping her herbal tea and listing to his voice and watching his relax face. It reminds her how much she misses their dinner times. But this is work place and they need to start their working morning. That helps her to take a step back from him. Without a word, she points with her eyes to the door and with that gesture invites him to start their day together.

* * *

_Thank you :) soooo what do you think?_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hi again :) _

_so apparently I'm going through some sort of writer block, my muse is on vacation or something. But I'm keeping working on the fic so don't worry. _

_Thanks to garfieldlover4u, Fairytales1981 for sweet comments and everyone else how took time in writing to me. Keep sending me your thoughts. _

_Here it is the new chapi, hope it wont board you too much, I had a hard time writing it. _

_Enjoy!_

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7.

The office starts to fill quickly with civilian employees and other officers that are on the desk duty. They always come and go, creating a familiar everyday confusion. Rusty takes his time in going to the store and when he comes back, he leaves the coffee in the break room and then goes to school in a hurry. Sharon lets him go by himself by bus; car privileges are still revoked, but she intimates to him that if he arrives late at school, he will be escorted by patrol cars tomorrow. Without any further discussion, he takes his backpack and storms out.

Provenza sits at his desk and plays with his chair, swinging on it. Tao focuses on writing the report from the interview on his laptop, while Sanchez stands near the board, gathering his thoughts. Flynn pulls a chair next to him and gestures at his Captain to sit in it. Sykes is still reading old cases files.

"What do we know?" Sharon's voice pulls everyone out from their thoughts, and they all start to focus on Sanchez.

"So, the victim, Molly, worked as head nurse of the oncology wing. We talked to the doctor from her work team and a few coworkers. They said she was a very private person. They don't know much about her personal life. They mentioned the name of one coworker with whom she was more friendly, but we will follow up on him later 'cause it's his day off. During her work, she was always professional and always on time. She never arrived late or ever missed any appointments. We got the sense that they didn't dislike her, but she wasn't the most popular person in the room either, oh you know the type," he says, and every eye instinctively turns on their captain.

Sharon shifts in her seat and changes her position nervously, but her face isn't showing any kind of distress. Only Andy can spot from his proximity to her that she is trying to put her hands in her blazer pockets.

"Oh, I know the type alright," Provenza grumbles under his breath, but his voice is loud enough to be heard by everyone.

"Please continue. Julio," she says not paying much attention to the old lieutenant's comment.

"Well, the doctor said that at the beginning, it wasn't easy to work with her, because she came from the other hospital that had different standards and procedures. She was very demanding at first, and wanted to change the way they worked and apply new rules. He said that it was difficult for everyone to adjust to the new situation. Lots of people had problem with her habits and with her transfer, but then they started to work things out slowly. Molly was head nurse for the oncology so the job came with lots of responsibilities and she had to deal with several people. Apparently the head nurse that she replaced was very close with the team and well liked, the doctor and other coworkers spoke very highly of her, but she screwed something up and the hospital asked her to leave, and they hired Molly instead. Anyway, with her patients Mrs. Merrick always kept her distance but was polite and respectful."

Julio's words hit Sharon in her gut. She narrows her eyes, her shoulders beginning to tense up. She feels cornered and uncomfortable. This feeling is suffocating her, she can't really tell if Julio is still speaking or if he is done, and waits for some reaction. The one thing she really wants now is to hide in her office until she can regain her self-control. Why is this story so unbearably familiar? She tilts her head towards Andy, but she doesn't look at him, he can observe that her neck is getting little red spots and she is becoming more nervous.

Andy sees how this description is affecting her and the team as well. It's ironic how sometimes a case can take you out of balance, it's happened to him several times, once even recently. But she's always so composed and detached from these kinds of cases. He doesn't understand what's changed this time, but he feels helpless. He looks at her with sympathy and tries to get her attention. She finally looks at him and he sees her eyes getting glassy from a thin veil of tears that she blinks quickly away.

"Did he say any of the coworkers could be our suspect?" Amy asks, as Sharon comes back to her senses.

"No, because now they worked the things out, and they haven't had problems from either side in months. He said it started to become a friendly work environment again. But we could check them out anyway. Her team wasn't that big, the oncology wing had only few employees so we can do that."

"Good, Amy, please help Julio with that," says Sharon, clearing her throat. "Mike, pull out the victim's financial reports and let's see if we can find something there, please."

"Right away Captain."

"Lt. Provenza, do we have an SID report from the crime scene? Are there are any prints that they found?" she asks and looks at him.

"Not that I know of, I will check it out." And with that, he gets out of his chair and goes to the exit.

"Andy, have we heard from the FBI? About the Corbani family?" She turns to him.

"We called and we are still waiting for them to 'make the time' to come by our office," he says, annoyed by this whole situation.

"Let's solicit them a little more so maybe they will be more cooperative, I would hate to go to the Chief with this," she says, biting her bottom lip.

"Oh, please don't get Taylor involved till it's completely necessary." He pleads with her. "We don't need more tension in this room. Ok?" he asks softly, and she nods, smiling.

"Alright, I will be in my office trying to make sense out of it," she says, and goes toward the doors feeling that Andy's eyes are on her. Somehow, it feels reassuring that nothing has changed.

In her office, she sits at her desk and before she starts to watch the crime scene videos, she takes a few deep breaths. Giving orders, making her team get a move on and keeping focused on the work will help her keep away those unsettling feelings she experienced before. Yes, there is no room for her emotions to get the better of her, not in the middle of a work day.

She starts with the videos, and keeps watching, observing Molly's home and the interior of her leaving room. She saw it before on the photos, but now it starts to seem even more familiar: a brown sofa, red painted walls, a few very distinguished painting representing ballet dancers. Maybe Molly's daughter loved ballet too.

The soft knock on the door distracts her. "Come in."

The door opens and she sees Andy.

"How can I help you, Lieutenant?" she says, smiling. "Any news from the FBI?"

"Nothing new, they say that our request is still _pending_ but they will get back to us as soon as it is possible." She frowns at him. "Look, I didn't threaten anybody this time, so maybe they are busy?" he says, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Aren't we all, Andy? Busy?"

"I have an idea. How about you and I go to this friend of the victim that has to be checked out?" he asks hesitantly.

"Molly." She says sternly. "Molly was her name. I don't know, Andy, I'm rewatching crime scene videos."

"Oh, you really like to have nightmares, don't you?" He jokes a little.

"Excuse me?" she says, amused.

"I'm just proposing it 'cause you really look like you should get out of here, and we have to interview this guy anyway. I can ask Provenza, but I don't want to see his face after this morning. Besides, when was the last time you went on a stakeout? Or if we're really lucky, maybe we'll chase the guy." He grins wildly at her.

"I really hope this is not going to be that difficult. Do you have his address?" Maybe getting out of the office and getting some fresh air is not such a bad idea after all.

"So, you are willing to be my partner today, Captain?" He sees her stepping away from her desk and grabbing her purse.

"Only if you will be on your best behavior, Lieutenant."

They walk towards her door and with a smile in his voice he answers, "I can't promise anything, Sharon."

* * *

_Thank you! _

_next chapi will be all Shandy feels :) _


	8. Chapter 8

_Enjoy :)_

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8.

They approach the underground parking garage. "Mine or yours?" Sharon asks.

"It doesn't matter, I'm driving anyway," he says, grinning.

"Not my car, and what is it with you having a problem with me driving?"she says with a suspicious look on her face.

"Oh, nothing in particular, I know you have your skills—" And with that, he eyes her up and down. That gesture makes her blush in one second. "But since I asked you out, technically, I think the polite thing to do is for you to let me drive. But if you object, we can work something out." The satisfaction in his voice makes her realize that he is enjoying himself quite a lot.

"Fine, I will let you drive, but one—and I meant it, one—traffic code violation and I'm leaving you out on the street without a ride." She smiles, but her voice is deadly serious.

"Alright, we have a deal."

He opens the door of his car and lets her into the passenger seat. She gets in gracefully and he shuts the door when she is settled. He slowly approaches the driver's seat and gets in. He starts the car and pulls out from the parking spot.

To her surprise, the car is clean and well kept. The last time she was in there, it was a mess. He apologized to her so many times, explaining that he had to ride with Provenza for awhile because his car broke and he didn't have time to clean it. She never saw Andy in so much distress over a really silly thing, she remembers with a smile that he was actually mumbling and acting so embarrassed. Now the car is neat and it smells of freshness and of his cologne. Maybe that's why he insisted on taking his car, so he can show her that it was a one time slip.

She likes this side of him where he is always attentive to details. Yes, he is such a proud man and needs to deal with his short temper, but he explodes easily when he cares too much for something or someone. She observed that while she was investigating him in FID, she noted it during several cases they worked together before her transfer, and she saw him with his family in the way he tried to be there for them no matter how much the guilt was eating him up for being a distant father and a bad husband. Andy, as every proud man does, instead of learning how to deal with his feelings, expressed everything through anger. That was before they became friends; now he seems calmer to her, more willing to give in and for sure the therapy sessions he attends help him work things out in a better way. She feels proud of him. Her own thought surprises her, should she be thinking this way about a subordinate? Maybe not, but even so, he is her friend, and she has no intentions of changing that.

She turns her head a little so that she can observe him better. Today, he is wearing a graphite colored suit with a light lilac shirt and a very well matched tie. His impeccable taste in fashion that has always drawn her eyes towards him, well, except when he is out with Provenza. She's seen some outfits when they passed by her condo when he was off duty to pick up Rusty for a guys' day out. But in the office, Andy is always like candy for her eyes.

"Sharon?" His voice seeks to get her attention.

"Yes?" She looks him in the eye when she realizes he was speaking.

"I was asking you if you mind me open the window? The AC is working, I fixed it, but I like to feel the wind when I'm in the car." He watches her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Yes, of course, it is a lovely day." She smiles and turns her head towards the window.

"I like this kind of weather, when it's not too cold or too hot, and there is this breeze in the air from the ocean and the wind ruffles women's hair." He chuckles to himself.

"Maybe you like it, but women's hair doesn't love it at all. You know it's already difficult to maintain a good hairdo without the wind or humidity factors," she says, annoyed at him but also amused that they're having this kind of conversation.

"Are you fishing for compliments, Captain, because your hair looks great every single day," he says playfully.

"Oh, no…" she says, embarrassed. "That's not what I meant." She is completely taken aback by his teasing and his way of using her rank in this playful way. That is new between them, she feels a little bit uncomfortable but the feeling is not necessarily unpleasant.

He laughs. "I hope you don't mind me saying that your hair looks good, even on a windy day."

She looks at him and can see a wild grin on his face. For sure, he is enjoying himself on her behalf. She doesn't respond, but shakes her head and keeps watching through the window. It's a nice sunny day indeed.

Her car seat is tilted back, and when she got in the car she didn't adjust it. Her legs are exposed in their full length and she crosses her feet at her ankles. Her dress is a delicate blue, with a V neckline, on top she has the purple blazer that he likes so much. The one that exposes her cleavage just enough for him to notice. And he did notice, without being caught of course, or at least he hopes that. He always carefully eyes her. And now that she is in his car with a skirt that's curled up a little and exposes part of her thighs he can't help himself and just watches her. His biggest weakness is and always will be a beautiful pair of legs. What is it with the woman he works and has worked for and their legs? Chief had amazing legs, but Sharon's are the type he prefers the most. Slim and athletic. Several times he's imagined her in jogging shorts or even in a bikini swim suit. He glances at her from the corner of his eyes and tries with all he's got to stop himself from forming the fantasies in his mind right now.

"Andy?" she asks softly, and to get his attention, she places her hand on his arm. He seems distracted to her.

"Yes?" he answers, keeping his eyes on the road but enjoying her warmth.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, we are going to interview our victim's colleague and friend. You forgot already?" he teases.

"I mean the location," she says, now annoyed at him and his humor.

"Oh, don't worry about it, and enjoy the ride." He laughs.

"Are you refusing to answer a question that superior officer made you?" she says seriously.

He can't tell if she's joking or not. "We're going to the guy's home. It's near the beach, I know how to get there. We had a deal, I drive." He answers in same tone of her question.

"Yes, but… oh never mind. It is that far?" She drops the subject, not understanding why she is willing to do that so quickly. Maybe having a disagreement in the car is not a best way to deal with it, or she just doesn't want to fight with him.

"No, aren't you enjoying yourself? We can put some music on. I fixed the radio too." His voice is concerned for her.

"I'm fine like this." And with that, she turns around again and stares out of the window.

They're driving near the ocean now. Andy lowers the window and increases the speed, just enough to feel the wind. The car fills up with the breeze and the smell of his cologne hits Sharon's nostrils. The spicy but pleasant cologne that he wears is never so vivid for her. She notices that this is different than the one he wore at the wedding. She remembers it very well because they danced together and his sweet smell reminded her of a summer day. This one is more aggressive and awakens her senses. She takes a deep breath and tries to hold on to it.

"I was thinking about something." She breaks the silence.

"Yes, what is that?" he asks curiously.

"You know when we saw the interview with Molly's family, they didn't tell us about all these problems she had at work, they said that she was loved by her coworkers and patients. I was wondering why they didn't. You think they're trying to hide it, or if they just wanted to remember only the best aspects of her."

"Or they didn't know anything about it. Sometimes you don't share this stuff with your family, to not upset them. I'm sure, when the things were pretty hard with us, you didn't tell that to your kids so they wouldn't worry." He answers her slowly and softly.

"I suppose," she says sadly, sighing deeply while she puts her hands on her knees and straights up.

He sees her distress and with a reassuring voice says, "Hey, I know it was difficult at the beginning for all of us when you transferred, but now our team works better than ever." And he puts his hand on hers to mark his words. She hums, a sad sound that escapes from her as she looks at their hands. He tighten his grip on her and they stay that way for a moment, just long enough so she calms herself down.

He takes his hand off when he sees her looking at the window again. "I love to watch the ocean," she says, and her voice is close to a whisper.

"It is a force of nature. I think we're here," he says and starts to slow down the car, and pulls up to a very pompous white house.

She unfastens her seatbelt and tries to open the door without success. Andy spots it and says, "Oh sorry, I still need to fix the door. Let me help you."

He leans forward and his torso touches her lap. His suit jacket is open, there is only one lay of clothes between his skin and the palm of her hand that is now pressing against his stomach. The warmth of his body surrounds her all around and she closes her eyes, trying to control herself, but failing. Her legs are lightly trembling underneath him. He extends his arm and pushes to force the door open then. She feels his muscles move and flashes of heat hit her mercilessly. He turns his head and looks her in the eyes. In the green irises there is a light he notices for the first time. Those eyes leave him breathless and the smell of her perfume lightheaded. She looks at his lips with curiosity, they are red and soft. Sudden urges to touch his lips comes over her so she leans forward slowly toward his face. His upper body moves to her, and the proximity allows their chests to touch. Her breasts are gently brushing him with every breath she takes. They both look at each other, their eyes filled with lust and anticipation.

"Skipper, come back here!"

They both are startled by the loud voice and the presence of the dog that is trying to get into the car. He withdraws from her, confused and very annoyed with the dog, the owner, and entire world. She straightens up quickly and tries to get out of the car while the dog is held on a tighter leash.

"I'm so sorry, he does that, just barges into the other people cars. I'm very sorry." The owner of the dog apologizes over and over.

"Oh, it's not a problem, these things happen," Sharon answers him, but she is visibly flustered. "Have a nice day."

"Yeah, and keep your dog by your side next time," Andy says angrily.

"Again, I'm so sorry. Goodbye." The man and his dog disappear around the corner.

Sharon looks at Andy, seeing that he is visibly angry and frustrated, a little bit like herself.

"Are we ready, Lieutenant?" she asks and restores some common ground between them.

"Yes, Captain, let's go." With that, they both start walking toward the house.

* * *

_Thank you for reading!_

_Yes I'm a little teaser (those who read Wild Side already knew it) sorryNOTsorry . Hope you like it anyway I really can't wait to hear from you!_

_Happy MaryMonday to all!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello!_

_thanks to everyone who was exciting for the Shandy feels in last chapi! It was wonderful reading all your thoughts._

_you can read it chapi as ... _**meanwhile in the office...**

_Enjoy!_

* * *

9.

Amy Sykes sits at her desk and looks around the semi-empty office. There's been so much electricity in the air that she's afraid that it might electrocute them all very soon. Everyone's nervous and edgy these days. She doesn't really understand, why the squad is seeing so much of this unusual behavior.

The only one who seems balanced and not quite so affected by all of this is Lieutenant Tao, that she actually likes. She likes working with Flynn too, they interrogate suspects together often, and she's grateful for that because she can learn some more skills from him. Also he is always friendly with her, like Mike.

They all accept her like a part of the team now. She's proven herself to them on more than one occasions, especially when they are under a lot of pressure and being active and reactive is required. In those moments, she can show all the experience she earned in the SIS squad and in Afghanistan. In those situations, for her it's always best to team up with Sanchez. His aggressiveness and quick responses are perfect matches to her skills and they obtain their best results together.

It's taken forever for Provenza to stop yelling at her like she is some kind of school kid. It was getting better until they were solving their last case. She can admit to herself that she screwed up pretty badly. Because of her and her big mouth, the deal was almost off the table, but fortunately, the captain could correct her mistake and it all went well, in the end. She knows that Provenza still has problem with that and he won't forgive her that easily. She just needs to try harder now and do her very best work.

It's good that the captain doesn't hold grudges, she is still nice in her usual way, distant and respectful, but nice. She did receive the Raydor glare and her blood froze for a day or two, but now it's all back to normal. Sure, Amy notices that she always is paired up with someone, but it's not like she feels supervised. It helps the team to work better, yes, that's it. She nods to herself and goes to the break room to get some coffee for her and Tao, who's sitting at his desk reading financial reports.

She places the coffee on his desk and smiles faintly.

"Oh, thanks Amy," he says, not looking at her. She stays near his desk, wanting to ask him something.

"Do you need something?"

"Um… Yes, I would like to ask you few things that concern the team," she says hesitantly. She knows very well that Lieutenant Tao is not much for office gossip, but it's worth trying anyway. "Do you have a minute?"

He looks at her, not convinced he want to enter into this conversation but he could use a break.

"Okay, so what's on your mind?"

"Well, I noticed that everyone has been very tense lately. More than usual, so I was wondering if there's something I'm missing." She pauses for a moment and sees that is not enough for Mike. "I saw that Julio jokes more, and I can guess it's not a good sign. Not to mention Lieutenant Flynn and Provenza constantly fighting and bickering. And the captain reacted in a very weird way this morning, that wasn't like her."

Tao can see that she really needs some answers and not just to satisfy her curiosity.

"Amy, you know that coming between, or even wondering about, what is happening with Flynn and Provenza is a waste of time. They argue all the time and then they make up and then it's the same story all over again. You just need to accept it. They've been each other's partners for a while now so there's nothing to understand," he says firmly, hoping the girl won't go searching for more questions about them. Mike notices himself that Andy gets easily distracted and Louie keeps berating him all the time. He even overheard a conversation once, but he knows better. Keeping some distance is the best way to get along with everyone, and he indeed gets along with everyone.

However, it is true what Amy observed, and he might have some ideas about the reason of their unusual behavior.

"Let me tell you a story, Amy. Back in 2007, we had a case. An FBI agent and the wife of an old mob gangster named De Luca were killed while Martin De Luca was in the witness protection program. He had agreed to testify against another mob family, Della Monte if I remember correctly. You know how those investigations go, our Chief was involved with FBI Agent Howard so we had some help with it, but it was one big mess. We had to share the evidence and we were always short on time, it was difficult for everyone. Anyway, Provenza and Flynn had to keep an eye on the witness and while they were on it, Provenza formed some sort of bond with Martin and the guy gave him tips on how to keep your gun clean and handy. He used a purple velvet bag to hide his gun and put it in the drawer." Tao meticulously tells the story with every detail that he can recall.

"And after Martin shot another FBI agent in our murder room, he tried to take Provenza hostage, and things got really unpleasant. In the end, Julio gave him a round of four bullets in the chest because De Luca didn't want to drop his weapon. After that, our squad was split up and there were a few different investigations into us, the FBI and FID and more. So, as you can imagine, our squad can have some problems with Italian mobsters. Julio hates how the FBI treats the mafia, so don't take it personally if you see him explode for some reason. And I guess Provenza is extra grumpy too. Just do your job and everything will be fine. As soon as we catch the killer and solve this, we all are getting back to normal." Tao concluded with a grin for her.

"Thank you, that explains some things, but when did Julio get shot?" she asks curiously.

It's been enough of a trip down memory land for one day, so Mike cuts it short. "You should ask him about that."

Amy nods and goes back to her desk to keep checking the alibis of the coworkers. Sanchez has a hunch about the family interview so he's looking in on it again in the electronics room with Buzz.

An hour later they hear Provenza come back with a report. He looks around and mumbles something under his breath that no one could catches. "Are they back yet?" he asks.

"No, why? Do you have something?" Tao answers.

"SID found a print at the crime scene, but they didn't find a mach in their database so I brought this to you so maybe you can try something on those computers of yours. Maybe the FBI has some more access to this. Did someone get back to us?" he asks, and remembers that Flynn and Raydor were still out.

"Lieutenant Flynn said we are still waiting to hear back from them," Amy answers.

"I will try to run it again," says Tao, and Provenza gets back to his desk.

After some minutes of silence, Sykes stands up and goes to Tao.

"I have an idea, I was just thinking about the hospital and how they keep the chemotherapy drugs under lock. Only the victim had direct access to them, but the privileges were extended to those with magnetic badges. I noticed that on the hospital's badges there was a fingerprint, so if we are lucky, we can run the print that we found in the hospital database," Amy says confidently, getting the attention of Provenza and Tao.

"That might work," Tao says hopefully, and Provenza looks at her, impressed.

"Amy, you were right. We have a mach. Tom Carlsson, he is an employee at the hospital and he worked directly with the victim," says Tao.

"Good thinking, Amy. Wait, isn't it the guy that Flynn and Raydor went to check out?" They hear Provenza's voice as he approaches them with his phone in hand.

"Yes, I think it's better to alert the captain and send some backup." Amy takes her phone from her pocket too, feeling satisfied that she finally got a compliment from him.

"I will call Flynn, you alert and send a black and white to the suspect's house," Provenza says in a rush.

"Yes, Sir."

"Flynn, are you still at the guy's house?" They hear Provenza on the phone.

"No, we questioned him and now we are on our way back to the office. Why? Are you calling to place your order for lunch? I'm not your waiter, you know that right?" Flynn says sarcastically, and Sharon looks at him, shaking her head and understanding that the call is coming from the old lieutenant.

"Not that, you idiot. Listen, we have new evidence, we found the guy's print at the crime scene. I already sent you some backup. Wait for them."

"Understood," says Flynn and hangs up the phone. Sharon observes his serious expression and starts to get a little worried.

"You have your gun with you, Captain?" he asks her, while turning the car around and putting on light and sirens.

"Yes, of course, Lieutenant. What's going on?"

"We are going to pick up our first suspect, funny thing, we were in his house 10 minutes ago. Provenza already sent backup for us," he says calmly.

She nods and straightens up in her seat, taking her gun out of her purse and checking it.

In no time, they are in front of the white house of Tom Carlsson, again.

* * *

_Thank you!_

_I guess this chapi is more for those who are The Closer nostalgic, but I hope you all can appreciate it. It's still Major Crimes after all :)_

_I decided to give some space to Amy, many of you might have thought that I don't like her as a character. Hope this chapi proof the contrary. _

_oh and just a heads up... some action is coming next :)_

_let me know what ya think and thank you :)_

_Have a wonderful weekend everyone! _


	10. Chapter 10

_Here it is as promise some BOOM (in case you have withdrawn from yesterday :P )_

_and... **action** _

* * *

10.

Andy Flynn parks the car in the same spot he did a few hours before. From this position, he has a good visual of the place. The trees obscure them, so from the house no one can see the confusion they are creating. Before stepping out of the car, he takes a deep breath and looks at his captain, who is ready for action.

"We'll wait for the backup. They'll take him in, and we will be back in the station in no time," he says to her while taking out his gun for a quick check.

"I know the drill. I'm maybe a little rusty at this, but bringing a suspect in for questioning shouldn't be hard," she answers and tries to reassure him with the smile.

"Just stay behind me, okay?" His voice is impatient as they hear the sirens getting closer to them.

She wants to argue, but now is not the right time for this. She feels a little nervous. It's true, it's been a while for her since she was in the field with only one person from her team, and even if they spoke with this man before and he looked harmless, people's reactions are difficult to predict. He was getting edgy now and then, but it's normal in these circumstances. Regardless, she is very confident in her abilities and being there with Andy appeases her too.

He sees her expression focus and while they are stepping out of the car, he comes a little closer to her and looks her in the eyes. "You are my partner today, you got my back, right?" With a smile, he reassures her even more.

"Always," she replies back with a soft voice and a smirk. Then, gently and for a brief moment, she puts her hand on his forearm and squeezes it lightly.

The officers arrive and Captain Raydor explains to them the situation and gives instructions. They all approach the white house together. Flynn is upfront and walks determinedly to the wooden door. He stops and sees Sharon on his right, she nods to him and he rings the bell. A minute later, Tom opens the door and is taken aback by the view of the officers. He keeps a firm grip on the door, not opening it fully. He grins in visible mockery, like he is enjoying all of this attention. Sharon narrows her eyes at him, changing her expression to a worried one.

"Did the lovely lady forget something in my home? Because this is the only reasonable explanation I can give myself seeing you here again," Tom says sarcastically.

"Mr. Carlsson, we would like to take you downtown for questioning," Sharon says sternly.

"I'm sorry lady, but I'm not going anywhere. You asked me questions before and I answered, so I think we're good here," Tom says, going on the offensive.

At his words, Flynn's posture tenses as he gets more irritated by the man.

"Listen pal, she is not some lady, and you will call her Captain. Show some respect, and you better do as we ask you to." His voice expresses all the anger that is rising by the second. Tom's grin widens while he looks Sharon up and down. She crosses her arms in front of her in a protective gesture and glares at the man with icy cold eyes, but she doesn't move from her position.

"I think we are done here, thanks for stopping by." And with that Tom tries to close his door, but Flynn immediately puts a hand on the door and pushes it open with all the force he can muster, moving his body through it.

"Now don't make me handcuff you and forcibly drag you out of here. You are a suspect in the ongoing investigation and we have every right to take you downtown with us for questioning." Andy's voice is stern as he approaches the suspect's body. Tom takes a few steps back but never loses eyes contact with the Lieutenant.

Captain Raydor watches carefully the exchange of glares between the two men but doesn't anticipate the next moments that follow.

Everything happens so fast but in her mind, it looks like all the movements happened in slow motion. She watches Tom's right hand rise and his palm clench into a fist and, with excessive force, punching Andy's jaw. She sees Andy's body shoved into the doorframe and she can hear a loud groan coming from him. It takes him merely a second realizing what is happening. She meets his eyes and sees all the fury and rage in them, that alerts her.

There is no time for either the other officer or her to respond because Flynn gathers all of his anger in his movements and like a predator starts hunting his prey. He starts racing after Tom, who's now running and throwing furniture in his path to slow Andy's progress. His path is unclear to them but Sharon suspects that he wants to run outside to his yard. She gestures to the two officers that stay behind her, giving them direction to go behind the house while she follows Flynn's track.

Where is Sanchez when you need him?

"Don't make me run, you bastard!"

She hears Andy's loud and angry voice while she gets through the large glass door that opens to the garden. For a moment she can't spot them, the adrenaline hits her hard and her heart starts to race faster. She frees her gun from the holster and cautiously turns her head around. She has her back to the wall and starts moving forward when she hears the two men fighting.

Tom is still running fast while Flynn tries to get ahold of him. They are near the swimming pool and her heart skips a beat when Andy attempts to trip Tom and, when the man finally starts to lose his balance, jumps on him with the strength and fervor of a feline. They struggle, Tom is younger and stronger and he manages to throw another punch in Andy's face, but Flynn is angry and determined. His experience with running down suspects makes the difference with Tom.

Flynn manages to roll him over so that Carlsson's face is turned toward the ground. He's still kicking and screaming, and this time without hesitation, Andy punches Tom in the face to disorient and shut him up.

"This is police brutality!" Sharon hears him scream and rolls her eyes frustrated at the man.

"Shut up, you piece of shit!" Andy shouts, while holding Tom's hands behind his back, one knee pressing into his spine. Flynn tries to get ahold of his handcuffs but finds it hard since the man is still wrestling in his hold.

The officers arrive and help Andy immobilize Carlsson. They put him on his feet, while Andy has some difficulty getting up as well.

"Officers, please escort the suspect to Parker Center and keep him in holding. Thank you," Sharon says, and turns her attention to Andy. He's still cursing under his breath.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" she asks him with concern, but keeps her distance from his body. He looks hurt.

He doesn't answer or look at her; instead, he moves towards the front of the house so he can get the hell out of there. His face is a mess and the ache in his wrist is very upsetting. She can sense it. That's why she patiently follows him without a word.

While they are getting to the car, she takes out her phone and dials Sanchez. "Detective, they are bringing the suspect downtown. Please charge him with assaulting a police officer, so we can hold him and question him for the time being." She pauses, listening to Julio's words. "Yes, _I _am alright. We will be coming back shortly."

She ends the call and Andy turns to look at her. Annoyed, he says, "I'm alright too." She frowns at him when he tries to get to the driver's seat of the car. He makes an incomprehensible noise of disapproval, but nevertheless he passes her the keys and gets in on the passenger's side. There is no use arguing, they both know that very well.

Sharon starts the car, but before she starts driving she looks at him properly and sees the grimace of pain on his face. "Do we need to get to the hospital to check you out?"

"No!" he snaps at her, then takes a deep breath. "I'm fine," he grumbles apologetically.

"Andy, there are some painkillers in my purse, you are more than welcome to use them." She starts to pull the car into traffic.

"I'm capable of handling the pain of few bruises, thank you very much. I've had worse."

"Yes, I remember. I saw the other guy this time too." He can hear the smile in her voice.

"Oh, please, I barely touched the bastard." He is holding his right wrist in a protective way. Damn pain.

She drives slowly, giving him time to relax and cool down. She completely understands his behavior, she knows him well. Getting beat up at what should be a simple pick up is very frustrating, luckily it was all contained and no one got shot or worse. There is no need to involve FID in this situation and that calms her too. She really feels bad for Andy, knowing that what hurts the most is his pride and big ego. _Oh men._

She sighs to herself, and pulls into the parking garage.

* * *

_Thank you! :)_

_I hope you liked it, it's one of my personal favorite chapis, but if you didn't no worries more to come._

_Leave a note if you pleased :)_

_oh and only 25 days until Major Crimes... we are almost theeeeerrrrreeeeee! _


	11. Chapter 11

_and...**reaction **_

_Enjoy! _

* * *

11.

Andrew Flynn is silent. He hasn't spoken a word in almost an hour. He's hurt, annoyed, and frustrated but most of all, he is angry. The only things he wants to do involve shouting or throwing objects. His blood pressure is getting higher, he can feel it from the flush of heat that is burning his cheeks and he is sure his neck is red by now. He tries hard to control his breathing, it's not an easy task since he can feel her gaze on him. The intensity of her stare makes him unable to focus. Everything feels like a nightmare.

They've been behaving like this ever since they stepped into the elevator. She observes him carefully with concerned frown, and he tries very hard not to have a temperamental outburst. Sharon doesn't know what to do. Clearly, in this situation it's better to let it go and let him deal with his mood himself, but this sense of helplessness is tugging at her. She wants to help him somehow without freaking him out of course. Unfortunately, the fact the she is his captain and now he is in this very fragile state, everything she could say will be misinterpreted for sure. That much she knows. So instead of pushing him over the edge any further, she braces her emotions and worries and pushes them aside. Maybe later today, when he has calmed down, she will figure out the way to help him. She hopes they can at least talk.

The elevator's door opens and he waits for her to step out still avoiding to look at her. Usually they walk side by side to the murder room but this time, he is slower and lets her walk alone in front of him. Somehow the fact that he has to face everyone in this state unsettles him even more.

"Oh my God, Captain. Are you okay?" The anxious voice of Amy Sykes runs through the room. "I heard the phone call and Detective Sanchez said that you might be hurt?" The Detective is approaching her captain very fast and stands next to her, trying to scan her with her eyes.

Sharon starts to feel uncomfortable, she appreciates the attention of the young woman but right now, her enthusiasm and cheerleading moments are too much.

"Thank you Amy, I'm well. Nothing happened to me so there is no need to be worried," she says, trying to calm her down.

"You need anything? Water, tea, coffee? I can go to the store for you if you want something specific for lunch. After all this excitement, you might be hungry."

Sharon is amused by Amy's reaction, the fact that the young woman reacts in this way is almost comical to her. It's nice to know that her team has her back, although in this particular moment Sharon finds Sykes a little too helpful to bear. With a head shake and a smile, Sharon answers her question. "No, I'm fine, really, but I think Lieutenant –"

She's interrupted by Provenza's appearance and his loud shout.

"Sykes! Give the captain a break, for God's sake. Go and help Sanchez, he will be bringing this asshole up from booking soon. And if he tries to pull a number on you too, you know what to do," Provenza orders her.

"Yes, sir," she says and starts to walk away.

"Amy, the suspect might be aggressive, but please make sure no unnecessary force is used on him," Sharon says, and hears Provenza groan with disapproval. She turns and looks at him "We really don't need an FID investigation on our team right now. He already was screaming police brutality." Sharon knew that Sanchez won't let it pass that Tom assaulted someone from his team. She just hopes that Amy will keep an eye on his temper.

Provenza only shakes his head at her. Sometime it still feels like she is being the hall monitor.

"Where is Andy?" she asks him, turning her head around to search for him.

"In the break room. Rusty is in his cubicle doing his homework, or whatever. I think you should talk to him. He overheard our conversation about your pickup and he might be worried. I told him not to call you and not to panic but it's better you speak to him yourself."

"Thank you for taking care of him. I will do that right away."

"Oh, and don't worry about Flynn, it will pass. You know, the guy just had his ass kicked so for now leave him alone. I will take care of it." He almost laughs.

Sharon sighs in defeat. "Why do I have the feeling that leaving him with you won't do any good… Hm?" she asks sarcastically, knowing that he is enjoying this unfortunate situation too much.

"Like I said, don't worry about it, I can handle Flynn being a total ass."

"Oh, I guess moments of civility are over, maybe we should do a meeting as a reminder to everyone. What do you think, Lieutenant?"

"Why not? But first let me make sure that hell's frozen over." He frowns, and then leaves her alone to walk in the direction of the break room.

Sharon stays put for a moment and watches the old man walking away. She fights hard to suppress a grin. Some days, Provenza is so infuriating and difficult to deal with that he gives her headaches. Although she has to admit that for her it's somehow reassuring that everyone can always count on Provenza being his grumpy self. Good that some things will never change. Nevertheless, she can always count on him. The dedication to this job and the love for the team, that he considers his everyday, are being helpful to her, more then she will ever admit. Certainly not to him any way. Although she is sure he knows how grateful she is to him for always thinking of Rusty and keeps an eye on her boy. Right, she remembers. Rusty.

She hurries to find the boy. He's sitting at his desk, clearly playing chess on his laptop and not doing homework. At the sound of her heels, he turns around and sees Sharon's smiling face.

"Are you okay?" he asks apprehensively.

"Of course I am. It takes more than a running suspect to bring me down," she says gently, but notices that he is still tense and worried. "Don't worry, really. Lieutenant Flynn was there and he took care of… that mess. Everything is fine."

"It's just, I heard the guys talking and, well, I didn't ask. But I'm glad you are okay," he says, and she can see his expression soften.

"You shouldn't be eavesdropping anyway, and you know that you can always just ask the others."

"Yeah, I know." Rusty shifts in his seat and avoids looking at Sharon. She steps closer to him and puts her hand gently on his shoulder, hoping that will soothe him down a little. She has his attention again.

"Now, I can see that you are _not _doing your homework. Rusty, you really should study for your chemistry test. I told you that Lieutenant Tao offered to help you with it. So if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask him." She can sense that he wants to argue, but surprisingly, he doesn't. It brings a smile to herself.

"I will." He exhales, annoyed.

"Good. Now I need to get back to work. I will tell you when I'm ready to go home. No chess till you are done. Understood?"

"Yep." And with that he closes the game and brings up the books from his backpack. She watches him for a little longer and then decides to go to her office. Every day she hopes that Rusty will open to her more. He keeps holding everything inside him. That still worries her, but she has faith. She will always have faith.

She passes near the break room and hears Provenza's voice, without stopping she continues her journey.

"Put this on." The sound of a bag full of ice hits the table near where Andy sits. He dares a look of disapproval toward his partner, not moving an inch.

"So, how is your new action buddy? Put the ice on it or your stupid wrist will be swollen and I don't want to listen to you whining later about it."

"Fine, and for the record, at least she runs. You know?!"

Provenza sits in front of Flynn and passes him an open bottle of water. "Stop moping. You got your ass kicked, big deal. Sanchez will take care of it."

"I'm not moping. Don't you have some place to be? Or I don't know… work maybe?" He grinds the words out.

"No, I've spoken to the captain and assured her that I will take care of you," he says sarcastically.

"Oh, then this must be my _lucky _day. I guess karma finally got to me."

"No Flynn, you look like a banged up apple, this is _my_ lucky day. Hope the guy kicked some sense in to you."

"Just stop, give me a break, will ya?" Andy says, angry now and visibly annoyed. He has no intention to go to his partner's favorite topic again. For sure not now.

Provenza chuckles to himself.

There is a knock at the door. He goes over to answer it, and Sharon stands in the doorway. She sees Andy still upset, but right now she's not sure if it's still about the pick up or if this has something to do with his partner annoying the hell out of him.

Sharon takes some water and observes the two men. Provenza has some kind of triumphant smirk on his face and Andy looks like he's a second away from committing a crime himself. Her thoughts are interrupted by Tao as he enters the room too.

"Oh, Captain. Julio and Amy are coming up. Andy, are you okay?"

Andy nods but stays silent.

"Yes, I'll be out there soon. Meanwhile Lieutenant Provenza, why don't you go with Mike to interview the suspect, please." She gives him a stern glare so he won't start arguing.

Both men walk out from the break room, and she takes the seat Provenza was occupying before.

Andy still avoids her eyes. She feels the uncomfortable tension between them and she is not sure what to do. In one hand, Sharon takes her glass of water and the other she places lightly on the table.

"Would you… would you like some tea?" she offers him, hesitating.

He doesn't respond or move, just stays quiet. It pains her, seeing him like this, so unlike him. This whole situation is getting out of control. She decides to leave him alone, often people just need to deal in peace with their problems, and Andy is not the one who shares too much. She starts to move out of chair, but suddenly he grabs her free hand to stall her. She looks at him and meets his eyes.

"I'm sorry." His voice is soft and low.

She examines his eyes carefully. There is no pride or arrogance, his vulnerable gaze melts her all in one instant.

"What are you apologizing for?" she asks him gently.

"I asked you to come along with me, I didn't –"

"It's not your fault" she cuts him off quickly and now she clearly understands what is going on in his mind. He feels guilty. And once again the warm sensation hits her and she is drowning in his brown eyes. It should not happen but right none of them cares about it.

"But – " He tries again.

"No buts. Don't feel guilty about any of it. Please." To keep him from talking again, she lifts her hand from the glass and touches his jaw, where a bruise is starting to show. Her fingertips slowly trace the reddened part of his skin. Her cold fingers bring a release to him, and she can read it on his face.

"Does it hurt?"she asks in a low tone.

He shakes his head and the motion brings her open palm to his soft mouth. He feels her hand shaking a little. Their eyes meet again and she smiles sweetly while he kisses her palm. The brush of his lips on this sensitive spot sends a shiver down her spine. She starts playing with the fingers of his hand that he still holds. Her heart starts to race faster and his body is getting warmer. They both lean toward each other slowly, and she moves her hand from his jaw to his neck passing her nails through his soft skin.

"Captain." Amy Sykes's voice startles them both and instinctively they move away.

"Yes?" she answers, breathless.

Amy makes a questioning face at her, but continues. "We are ready, Lieutenant Provenza asked me to call you." And with that, she leaves them alone again.

The atmosphere has changed and there is awkward silence between them. He watches her as she gets up from the seat and straightens her jacket. He is panicking and not sure what to do. He stands up too and stays in front of her.

"Go to dinner with me, please," he says in a hurry, before they come fully back to the reality even though it's as if it's already slapped them in the face twice.

"What? Um… Andy, not now, we need to get back to work."

"Think about it, okay?"

She nods and walks to the door. Sharon knows that there is only one thing that will occupy her mind now. Damn. Regain focus will be the most difficult task she will have to do today.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_

_I'm trying to canon them, just bare with me and it will happen although is taking longer then I thought. _

_As you can see I do believe that the biggest fangirl of Captain Sharon Raydor is Amy Sykes :)_

_Many of you asked for Sharon and the aid kit, don't worry is coming and some Shandy feels also! _

_Thanks to everyone who leaved me notes, you are all wonderful. _

_Hugs to all! _


	12. Chapter 12

_Happy ShandySunday :)_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

12.

Sharon Raydor passes through the corridors and rooms of the ninth floor in a hurry, needing to get to her own office as quickly as possible. The staccato beat of her heels rumbles through the floor. Whoever stands in her way had better move or the Wicked Witch will freeze their blood with a look, or worse, make them disappear.

Once she is in the office, her safe place, with the blinds closed, she can finally exhale. The air comes out, followed by a quiet sound that escapes her throat in an expression of all her distress. Her hands are shaking and even when she tries to bury them in the pockets of her blazer to keep them steady, she still can feel them tremble. She closes her hands into fists, closes her eyes too, and tries to control her breathing. _Breathe, Sharon. Breathe. _A new mantra is composed in her mind, one that she repeats over and over.

This really can't be happening. Not to her, anyway. How could she have allowed herself to cross that well-visible line between herself and her colleague? Not just a colleague, even, but a subordinate. All of her distraction recently, all of this confusion and her problems with remembering things and staying focused, not to mention all of the physical changes she experiences during the day from feeling cold to hot and the other way around while he was present with her... It can't be because of him. Why she didn't think of it sooner?

Or maybe it's just this very unusual day. Her lack of sleep from the previous night, this stressful case, all of this movement in the morning and all that followed it. She's tired now, more precisely, exhausted, by all of this mess and her feelings. _Feelings._ She doesn't even know _what_ she is feeling.

It's frustrating enough. _Get a grip, Sharon._

Her hands are getting sweaty. It's an incredibly unpleasant sensation that she hates. It's the first sign that she is really not in control of her own emotions. And this is something that she hates even more. Following the rules, being in control, and not allowing her personal life get tangled up in the job is what kept her sane. Now she is a trembling and sweaty mess.

It was all easier when he didn't like her, when he didn't watch her all the time, when he didn't flirt with her or make her laugh. It was easier before she became his buffer, and then his friend, and now… this is too confusing.

She is hot. She takes off her blazer and hangs it on the back of her chair. She steps closer to the window and observes the city of Los Angeles in all of its splendor. The sun is up in the sky, no clouds, only the wind caressing the trees. She likes this spring season, everything comes to life again and it's not too cold or too hot. Just like Andy pointed out during their car ride. _Andy_.

The thought of him makes her heart race faster and she feels her cheeks flush with rosy color. What a mess indeed. She suddenly feels dizzy. Closing her eyes, she leans on the binders that are under her window and with her bent elbow, she knocks down her green vase. _Shit!_

The sound of breaking ceramic is overheard by Flynn, passing by from the break room. He narrows his brows and stops on the spot, turning his attention to her office. He hears nothing. Alarm bells ring in his head and without any further hesitation, he barges into her office.

"Captain?"

He looks around the office and doesn't see her there. He only spots her jacket on the chair. He hears some noise coming from under the table, so he goes around her desk and sees her crouching on her knees trying to pick up the broken pieces of a vase. Her movements are hurried and she doesn't want to acknowledge his presence. He bends down, kneeling too, and stays in front of her. Her head is bent down and she keeps her focus on the broken vase.

"Sharon?" He tries again, but nothing.

With some difficulty, he grabs the wastebasket that is under her desk and helps her clean, picking up the pieces from the floor. It takes them awhile. He stays quiet but carefully observes her from time to time. She is unable to talk or move more than she's already doing.

When the tension and silence starts to make him feel unsettled, he reaches with both hands to capture hers, and he gently takes the ceramic out of her hands to throw it away. She tries to pull away from him, but his grip on her is firm. He takes both of her hands in his and feels that they are cold but sweaty. He moves his thumb under her palm until he finds her wrist, where he massages lightly. The sensation relaxes her and she closes her eyes, exhaling loudly again.

Andy is in pain. His wrist is killing him but he doesn't want to stop touching her. She feels that he applies less pressure on one hand and she immediately remembers that he is hurt. She opens her eyes and watches his big hands on hers, his touch light as a feathers and that makes her wonder, for a very brief moment, how this wonderful caress would feel on her flushed body. She blushes again, but then she sees his wrist is swollen and the skin has darkened to a deep purple shade. She frees one of her hands and stops him.

She pulls up the sleeve of his jacket and notices that he still wears his watch, probably because he doesn't want to make a big deal out of it and not draw attention. She slowly unbuttons the small buttons on his cuff and removes his watch to place it on the desk. Next, she rolls up his sleeve and thoroughly examines his bruises.

She stands up and motions for him to do the same. She points for him to sit in one of the chairs in front of her desk, and leaves him there while she goes to the drawers from where she gets the first aid kit. She sits next to him and takes from the kit a bandage and an ointment that will help with his wound. While she is medicating him, she regains control of herself again. The panic and the shaking are gone. She is calm and focused.

Sharon should be scared that his presence has this soothing effect on her, but right now the only thing that interests her is making him feel better. Like he did for her just minutes before. Skillfully, she places a firm bandage on his wrist. That will prevent him from feeling more pain, if he's careful.

Then she searches through her purse and pulls out some pain killers. She places them in front of him, and brings him water. He observes her flawless movements and his heart flutters at the way that she is taking care of him.

"Take it, don't be stubborn. Not now at least." She looks him directly in the eyes.

"Thank you," he whispers to her and she smiles in response.

She closes her eyes again.

"We should talk," she starts. "But not now. That much is clear to me."

"I know, let's do this over dinner." He offers.

"But I don't know when it will be possible. We're busy here, and then I need to think about Rusty."

"I'm not going anywhere. Take your time. I think we both need it," he reassures her.

She starts to clean up the mess from the first aid kit while he is resting on the chair. They hear shouting from the break room.

"Sykes! Where is Captain Raydor, I thought I asked you to call her."

Sharon rolls her eyes, annoyed. She hears Amy defending herself and wants to stand up and go outside. She looks at Andy. He takes her hand into his and brings it to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

"Go, I will clean up here as much as I can."

She nods, takes a deep breath, and goes outside completely transformed into Captain Raydor.

* * *

_Thank you!_

_I know, it's short and maybe not what you had expected but it has Sharon and the aid kit at least. Those two just don't want to behave! :P_

_hugs and Flynngasm to all of you!_


	13. Chapter 13

_Hi there, Happy ShandySuday :)_

_This chapter was written when I got a wonderful review from **garfieldlover4u **that helped me wake up my muse! So thank you dear!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

13.

Sharon Raydor storms out of her office but closes the door behind her carefully, keeping in mind that Andy is still in there, resting. Her presence automatically quiets Provenza's braying, as he now observes the captain and notices her flustered state. He has no doubt that something odd is going on and the worst part is that everything is happening under his nose. Flynn is nowhere to be found, but something tells him that if he were to barge into that office he would see that his partner is in there. The thought of it makes him frustrated with this day even more.

Sharon can sense that the lieutenant is getting rattled by the way he tries to bore through her with his eyes.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Are we ready?" she asks in his direction so they can move on from this situation before things between them escalate.

"We were waiting for you in electronics." And with his hand, he shows her the way.

She nods, and feeling the hurry, they all go to the control room where Buzz is working on the equipment.

"I want a lawyer." The second they open the door, those words echo from the monitors. On the screen, they can see Tao and Sanchez sitting in front of Tom. Sanchez looks furious.

Sharon carefully examines the man's face and feels satisfied because there aren't any new signs of abuse, or how they would call it... a _tripping and falling into the wall_ kind of accident, although she personally would like to wipe that smirk from the man's face. Buzz notices they are all present and offers to Sharon the chair next to him.

The second sound coming from the monitors is an angry Sanchez slamming his fist on the table, startling everyone. "You better start talking, and I'm not kidding, I'm really starting to lose my patience."

"You think I'm some stupid kid? I've already heard my rights at least three times today. So I want my lawyer and I want her now!" Tom matches the tone and volume of his voice to Julio's.

Tao sees Sanchez rising from his chair, but stops him. "Mr. Carlsson, please write your lawyer's number here." He gives him a yellow pad and a pen. "And I will make the call for you."

Tom watches Tao from under his brows, not quite trusting him, but there is not much that he can do right now since they took his phone and other belongings. He does as he is told and pushes the pad towards Tao.

After that, they watch Lieutenant Tao leave the room.

Provenza shakes his head in disapproval, and Sharon looks at him. "We should call the DA's office about this case. I think we are about to make our first deal." She turns back to the monitor to observe Mr. Carlsson once more.

"I can place the call but I will specifically request DDA Hobbs. I don't have the patience today to deal with Emma, and since Sanchez is interrogating and Flynn is distracted is his own way..." At those words, Sharon straights up in her chair and he smirks at her reaction. "There is no one who can babysit her, and you can't count on me to do that. I do enough babysitting for this squad anyway."

Sharon knows he is referring to his interview with Amy. He was displeased with her choice to send him to do the notification with Sykes, but at least he got that off of his chest, so now hopefully they can move on from this situation. Although something in her tells her not to be so sure about that. She will just have to wait and see what will be Provenza's next mood.

Her attention was right back on the monitors to study the suspect some more. Tom is visibly nervous but his body is perfectly still as he sits before Sanchez, who watches him intensely. When she and Andy questioned him at his house about his alibi for the night of the murder, he answered with confidence and without hesitation. Yes, he was in shock after the news of Molly's death and at some point, he even got emotional, but he really seemed harmless. It was only later that they discovered that the man has a hotheaded temper and can blow up aggressively in the most inopportune moments. When Tom was getting to the patrol car, he was cursing and struggling with his whole body against the firm grip that the officers had on him. She saw it out of the corner of her eyes while she was talking to Sanchez on the phone.

Tom is tall, almost Andy's height but younger than her lieutenant. His hair is short and grizzled, his body is well built. He looks like a strong man. She can't take her eyes of him, there is something in this man that keeps drawing her attention to him. Sharon can't even explain it to herself, his dark eyes now are wondering through the interview room and he stares directly in the camera. His face is right on the monitors, she narrows her eyes and a frown takes over her expression.

"He looks like Lieutenant Flynn." Buzz's voice is just in time to help with her thoughts.

"Hm?" she asks in a hum.

"I mean, he looks like a younger Lieutenant Flynn. I was watching this man and wondering if I'd seen him before and then it hits me. He looks like Lieutenant Flynn."

That's it. Buzz is right, he does look like a younger Andy. Why didn't she think of that sooner?

"Captain, I wanted to ask you if I can take Rusty to the movies" He speaks hesitantly to her. "There's a movie that Rusty is dying to see, and he's been talking about it for a month now, so I was thinking to take him to the premiere. I can get tickets for that day."

Sharon smiles sweetly at the man. It warms her heart that Buzz would do such a nice thing for her boy willingly. He shyly avoids her eyes but waits patiently for her answer.

"Thank you Buzz, really, that is incredibly nice of you. I'm sure Rusty will be very thrilled to know you are even suggesting it. However, I think you are aware that Rusty is grounded. I don't want to be so strict on him." She sees Buzz raise an eyebrow in wonder at her last words. "Okay, maybe I'm strict, but there is a reason. I'm not sure he talked to you about what happened, and until his punishment is over, or he is ready to talk to me and explain, I really can't allow him to go."

"Oh." He sighs quietly. "I understand, Captain." His voice is sad. She looks at him and reads only disappointment on his face. It seems to her he's actually looking forward to watch this silly movie with Rusty. She knows all about this movie, Rusty had talked about it before in great detail.

She feels bad at this moment. It's not that she can back down on her words and actions, but maybe this will be a good excuse to make Rusty talk. To create a bridge between them and maybe move forward. If the old fashioned silent treatment won't do, perhaps a little blackmailing will help.

"You know, Buzz, I will talk to Rusty about it. This is a wonderful opportunity for a real conversation. He will for sure let you know how it turns out. Thank you, though."

He smiles at her, and she is pleased that her decision is giving him at least some hope that she's not canceling the movie night after all.

Before he can say anything in response, the door of the room opens and Tao pokes his head in. "Captain, the lawyer is here and before she talks to her client, she asked to speak with you."

Sharon nods and goes to the exit.

In the murder room, she sees the familiar graceful figure of a very tall woman waiting for her. The short red locks catch her attention, along with the olive green suit that really looks good on her. The woman turns at the sound of Sharon's clicking heels.

"Sharon, hello. I just wanted to see you before I go to talk to my client," she says with a broad smile, and her voice is more _devious_ than ever.

"Hello, Madeline, and what can I do for you?"

"Well, my client is accusing your lieutenant of police brutality, and I just wanted to…" Her voice trails off and a smirk appears on her face.

"To gloat?" Sharon says, quickly cutting her off.

"Oh no! Not at all. I want to talk about the irony, for a moment." Madeline leans against the nearest desk and confidently observes Sharon.

"The irony, you say?"

"Oh yes. You see, in all the years we've known each other, I never would have thought someone from _your_ squad would be accused of such shameless action. Especially under your watch. Ironic, don't you think?"

"Hm." She pauses for a moment to gaze at the woman intensely. "I don't know about that, but I'm glad you find this amusing. Anyhow, my detectives will provide you with a copy from the medical evaluation Mr. Carlsson received the second he arrived at the station and the doctor's opinion can speak for itself," Sharon says, feeling a spark of triumph that can be read in her voice and eyes.

"I only hope the doctor wasn't the one for the dead people, what was his name? Morales, I think. I can't wait to read the report. But just to be safe, I will request a second opinion to assess my client's injuries."

Now Madeline's sarcasm and attitude is getting too much under her skin, like it always does after awhile when they're in the same room.

"You do whatever feels necessary."

"Now, can you please show me the way to my client? I need to speak with him."

"Of course. Lieutenant Tao, please escort Ms. Morgan to the interview room. Detective Sykes, can you get the report from the doctor's visit?" Sharon turns to Amy.

"Yes, Captain."

"Oh, and Sharon." Madeline claims her attention once again. "I hope you called the DA's office and we can deal with this in no time."

"The call has been made."

"Good, let's hope to solve this peacefully. After all, we always deal easily with each other."

And that's the truth, Sharon Raydor and Madeline Morgan have always dealt with each other through the years.

* * *

_Thank you!_

_In case you dont remember who Madeleine Morgan is, then you should rewatch "All in". I loved her character even for those 5 min on screen. Rebecca Wisocky was a great guest star and I wanted to include her in my story and I had fun doing it :)_

_Heads up, next chapi will have lots of Rusty :)_

_hugs to y'all!_


	14. Chapter 14

_Happy FlynnAndProvenza Friday!_

_Hope y'all will like some Rusty silliness :) oh and if you get board I have a drinking game for this chapter. Only one rule: Drink every time you read *chemistry* _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

14.

"I hate this," Rusty murmurs quietly to himself while he stares at his chemistry book. All those names, weird drawings that are supposed to be molecules and atoms, letters and numbers combined together, and there is always a little math in it, just enough to call it all a chemical reaction. He has his own reaction to all of this… hate.

The test is soon. Only few days of studying left and he has really no idea how to bring everything together to understand this subject. He can't get a bad grade. He is already in trouble; if he comes home with a D—or worse an F—then Sharon will really be pissed. Well, technically, she won't get mad because Sharon would never comment in some obnoxious way about his grade, she would only give him a pep talk with the purpose of motivating him to do better on his next test. She's great like that.

Yeah… great. Except for this punishment thing. He apologized. Okay, to be honest, he said that he was sorry but it wasn't such a big deal. She asked for a 'reasonable explanation of his action', but nothing came to his mind so he stayed quiet. Then she started to get irritated and he made some weird face at her and then she lost all of her patience, confirming it with her words, and after few moments he was grounded, just like that. He wasn't even paying so much attention. Now that he thinks of it, maybe that's the problem. His own thoughts are making him dizzy.

The real problem now is this stupid chemistry test. He has options. He can study on his own, but this has gotten him nowhere so far. He can call some classmates and study with them, but Sharon will only allow that if they will come to the condo or to the station and he is not fond of that. Besides, after Kris trying to help him or whatever, he kind of likes to study alone now. It creates less drama. So the last option on his list is to take Lieutenant Tao up on his offer and ask him for help. He hates that too, asking for help, any help, really. But there is this movie he is dying to see, and if he does good on the test and Sharon sees his efforts, then maybe she will reward him with the movie and burgers. Okay, he's pushing too much. It's not a good idea with her, ever.

Still, that thought is enough for him to get up from his seat and he goes in the search of Tao. He goes straight to the murder room, where he can usually find the lieutenant at his desk. Rusty spots Amy.

"Amy, do you know where Lieutenant Tao is?"

"Oh hi, Rusty. He'll be right back, I think, you can wait here if you want." She points at her desk chair.

"Are you leaving?" he asks, surprised at her gesture.

"Yes, I have an assignment from the captain, but I will be right back. Rusty, is everything alright?" she says, a little worried.

"Yeah, I'm just stressed over a test. You know, schools problems." He pouts.

"I had a blast at school, always loved it. But my brothers hated it, so I know how you must feel. That really sucks." Shortly after the SIS operation, Amy and Rusty become more fond of each other, she started to get more protective of the boy and likes to hear his silly jokes and the way he teases Buzz. At first, he had some problems with her attention but with time he actually decided that he likes Amy and her enthusiasm. He suspects she treats him like some sort of cousin or nephew, but family nevertheless. He doesn't see her like a sister yet, even if they really have some fun together and he wouldn't hesitate to be in her company.

"Let me know if you need anything. I really have to go now." And with that she exits the murder room and goes towards the elevators.

Rusty looks around the room and sits at Amy's desk. No one is there, they are probably in electronics or in the break room for coffee. The amount of coffee these guys can drink always amazes him, they are all so old that it can't be that good for them anymore. But what does he know, he doesn't drink coffee and has no intention of starting.

After few minutes he starts to get bored, his attention span is worse than Provenza's. Finally he hears someone coming to the room, if it is not Tao at least he will have some company, but today is his lucky day.

"Hi Rusty, if you are looking for the captain, she will be here in a minute," he says, and goes to sit at his desk.

The boy stands up and hesitantly approaches the lieutenant. He hates doing this, but the thought of the movie helps him push through it.

"Actually, Sir, I was looking for you." Rusty pauses for a moment. "Um… I have this chemistry test and I'm really not good at it. I've tried but…nothing. Sharon said you were willing to –"

"Say no more, yes I will help you. You know, chemistry it is quite easy if you find the right approach to it. You need to use your logic thinking. Let me put it this way, chemistry is like playing chess, but you don't anticipate the next move, you anticipate the outcome of a reaction. And that is possible if you know all the rules of this great subject. Because, you see -"

Tao starts his long monologue about the wonders of chemistry and how easy it is to learn it.

Yeah…right. But if the man is confident in his teaching skills, Rusty won't argue with that. He just needs to figure out the way to make Tao stop over-explaining everything and stay strictly with the concepts they have to process for the test. He probably will talk to Buzz about it or even Flynn.

It always looks like Flynn can handle Tao when he is in one of his moods. He hopes Lieutenant Flynn will give out his secrets.

"So tonight or tomorrow night after work, will that be good for you? You can stay for dinner, I bet my wife will be happy to have some young company since Kevin is in college." Those words bring Rusty's attention back.

"Yes, that will be great."

"Do you want me to talk to Captain Raydor about permission?" Tao knows all about his punishment.

They all know of course, keeping a secret at the station was impossible, but after the whole

threatening letters fiasco he won't try that anymore, ever.

"No, I think I should do it," he murmurs.

"I'm sure she will appreciate the effort." Tao tries to encourage the boy.

"Yeah, I hope so. Thank you, Lieutenant."

The man smiles at the boy sympathetically. They hear the well known heels sound and both of them turn.

"Rusty? Do you need anything?" She is quite surprised to see him in the murder room, he usually wouldn't wander around with them working. She knows there is something he needs. "Let's go to my office." She adds and he goes behind her toward the office.

Sharon opens the door and doesn't find Andy inside. For a just brief moment, she has mixed feelings about it. She pushes them away and scans the room for any sign of what happened there earlier between them. She will miss that vase. She makes a mental note to buy a new vase or bring one from home. He cleaned her desk and the floor but there are still some pieces of the ceramic. However she is confident Rusty wouldn't ever notice it.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asks while going behind her desk to sit in her chair.

"Um, I talked to Lieutenant Tao and I asked him for…" He won't say help, not if he can avoid it. "To…study with me for my chemistry test." His eyes are on his tennis shoes.

"Really?" Her curiosity gets his attention.

"Yeah. I figured he already knows a bunch of stuff and he likes to explain everything so it's a win-win. He said yes and asked me if I can go to his house for it tonight or tomorrow night. Sharon, please, I need this." He pleads. She is amused by his voice. When it comes to his education, she would never say no.

"Alright. I guess you can coordinate with the lieutenant yourself. Just let me know in advance which evening you choose. I hope you thanked him properly for this?" She points her fingers at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I did, don't worry. I hope we can be out of here soon. Sharon? Is it going to be much longer?"

"Yes, it might take some time. We still have some work to do today," she says apologetically to him, knowing that he wants to go home even by himself but won't dare to ask.

"Okay, I will go try study again." And with that, he exits her office.

Rusty decides to go to the break room to gets some soda and snacks, if he has to do more chemistry he won't do it on empty stomach or without something sweet. Yes, candy. It's always a good option.

He finds Flynn trying to make himself something hot to drink using only one hand. Rusty feels sorry for the man and wonders if he should help him.

"Hi kid, all good?" Andy asks while trying to take a cup from the cabinets.

"Yep, do you need, like, help or something?"

"Nope, I'm good."

The boy watches Flynn struggle with simple tasks, but doesn't say anything about it. Now that he is with Flynn, maybe he should ask about Tao.

"Can I ask you something?"

Andy stops what he's doing and sees the boy's interested expression.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, Lieutenant Tao offered to study with me for my next test and he likes to overdo it, so I just want to know how I can make him stop? I guess I need some advice."

Flynn is surprised at the boy's request but is glad nevertheless that he's taking Mike's help.

"That is a great question kid, I don't know if I can share our secret weapons just like that," Andy teases.

"Please, really, it's important."

Andy takes pity on the boy who is now shifting from foot to foot.

"Okay, but if I hear one word that you said this to someone you will be in big deep trouble. It can come back and bite me in the ass."

"Oh please, I'm already in trouble. Now spit it out." Rusty's attention is all on Andy.

"You ask him questions related to the subject, I bet there's tons of stuff you don't get. So prepare the questions in advance and then if Mike starts doing his thing, you cut him off with a question. It will be like a quiz for him and God knows how Mike Tao likes a good quiz."

Rusty considers his words for a moment before deciding, "That is brilliant. I hope it will work. If it does, I owe you one, Flynn."

"I won't forget that one and I will cash it sooner or later."

They both start laughing while Flynn goes back to his attempts at making himself a beverage and Rusty starts snooping around for some sweet snacks.

"Rusty, I thought you are going to study." Sharon's voice fills the room and Andy immediately closes his eyes and smiles. His back is turned to her and he is glad she can't see his reaction.

"Yes, I was just taking a soda" He figures she doesn't need to know about the candy. She smiles at him and her attention goes to Andy and his miserable attempts at making some tea. Rusty sees her face and adds, "I asked if he needed help, he said no."

"I don't need your help, kiddo. I can make myself this damn tea," he says, not turning to them.

"See, I told you. He is just stubborn." The boy teases them.

"Rusty! Study, now!" Sharon says sternly.

"I'm going, I'm going. Bye, Flynn and um… thanks." Rusty leaves, the chemistry is awaiting for him.

Sharon observes Andy's back for a moment. Her eyes trail along his shoulder, his perfect body posture, and when they land on his rear, she shakes her head at herself while a warm wave hits her. She is really glad no one is watching them now. She walks towards him and places her hand on his shoulder while her forearm rests on his shoulder blades. She leans her side into his and presses her body a little against him. Her head is so close to him that her hair actually tickles his face and neck.

"Let me help you." She uses her soft voice that's never failed to trigger so much in him.

"I really am capable of doing this." He turns his face and their noses almost brush against each other. Although neither of them is willing to do anything about it. Their eyes lock and she studies him for a minute and then, in a whisper, adds, "Please."

There is not much he can do right now but let her take over. He nods softly at her and takes a step away. It's not that he is not enjoying her proximity, quite the contrary, but it's better that way. He withdraws from her before he can't.

"I've heard you had some chats with this dirtbag's attorney," he says while watching her search through the cabinets.

"Yes, I guess she made my wicked witch side come out." She smiles. "Madeline is usually harmless, and we've known each other for quite awhile now."

"Are you two friends?" he asks curiously.

"I wouldn't call it friendship, but we're acquaintances, I don't really know how to explain it. It's always good between us for short moments and then we get under each other's skins."

"So it's like you and Chief Johnson, then?" he asks, with a mischievous grin on his face.

She snorts at him. "I never thought about it, but yes, you can call it that."

"Sharon, now I wonder if you do have friends," he teases.

"Yes Andy, I have you."

At her words, his heart skips a beat while she passes him a cup of tea and then leaves the room. He watches her in disbelief.

* * *

_Thank you!_

_Only 3 days till Major Crimes will be back! We almost made it! I just can't wait! _

_Hugs to y'all!_


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